


Conflict of Interest

by beeftony



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 23:19:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/741347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeftony/pseuds/beeftony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Full Circle Part 1

High above the waters, the two combatants struggled with each other in a duel to the death. Fire rushed hungrily in violent waves, crashing hard against the earth that was summoned to intervene. The sun was fading quickly into the horizon, and the wielder of the fire resolved to finish this quickly so that he would not be forced to fight with less than his full strength.

Summoning every ounce of energy he could muster, the master moved his arms in slow, arcing circles, banishing thought and emotion to the wayside. The air around him began to crackle, and his opponent, sensing the danger, sent a boulder hurtling his way.

But it was already too late.

There was a flash, a sound of thunder, and then nothing.

The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation picked himself up from the rocks. Dusting himself off, he surveyed the scene before him.

The Avatar lay dead at his feet.

It had been a most satisfying battle. The Avatar had proven to be a worthy opponent, but in the end, _he_ had emerged victorious.

"Wait until father hears about _this_."

He looked down at the Avatar. She never stood a chance. She hadn't even fully mastered what she called firebending, much less the other elements. She hadn't even glowed like all the other Avatars he had heard about. She never got the chance. As soon as the lightning had left his fingertips, he knew that the Avatar would die. And she had.

Bending down, he put a finger against her neck. Nothing responded. She was dead.

Leaving the broken, wasted body of the Avatar to rot, he leapt from the gigantic cliff, slowing himself with steady jets of flame. When he reached the shore below, his ship was waiting for him.

The ramp opened as he approached and a man came rushing out. "Prince Ozai!" he shouted, waving his arms excitedly. "Prince Ozai, we've just received news! Your son has been born!"

He smirked. "It's Fire Lord Ozai now."

* * *

  
**Conflict of Interest**  
By beeftony

  
**Episode One**  
Full Circle

* * *

**Sixteen Years Later**

"I don't understand, Uncle. Why are we going to the Fire Sage's temple?"

"The Spirits came to me in a vision," Iroh answered as he joined his nephew near the bow of the ship. "They told me to bring you there immediately."

Zuko did not look at him, scowling at the ocean instead. "Do the Spirits know I've been banished for two and a half years?"

"I am pretty sure they do."

He turned around. "Then _why_ are they telling you to bring me into Fire Nation territory?" He faced the water again. "And why does a wise old man like you still believe in them?"

"The Spirits do not come to me for a friendly game of Pai Sho," Iroh answered. "Whenever they appear, it is urgent. And they are always right."

"They can tell the future?"

Iroh shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. The Spirits are simply more in tune with the energy of the universe than we are. Their world allows them to view things from a different perspective. They can sense that something good or bad is about to happen, even if they do not know exactly what it is."

"How do you know so much about Spirits anyway?"

"A few years ago, back when I was commanding the siege at Ba Sing Se, I had an encounter that ended with my spirit being forced outside my body. I spent many days in the Spirit World, searching for a way back."

"How did you escape?"

"Avatar Roku helped me."

Zuko turned around. "Isn't Roku's shrine in the Fire Sage's temple?"

"Yes." Iroh stroked his beard for a few moments. "Perhaps _that_ is why the Spirits told me to bring you there."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "He's not the Avatar I'm looking for."

"But the Fire Sages still might be able to help you. The current Avatar is supposed to have been born into the Fire Nation."

"And it's my job to track him down." He paused. "Uncle, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Prince Zuko?"

"You were originally the Crown Prince, Fire Lord Azulon's first born. And yet my father, your younger brother, assumed the throne. My mother told me it's because you refused to kill the Avatar. Is that true?"

Iroh's face had gotten considerably tighter. "It is."

"Why? It's been the tradition for the Crown Prince to hunt down and kill the Avatar to prove himself worthy of the title Fire Lord. Why did you refuse?"

"Because I did not feel the need to prove my worth by participating in such a barbaric tradition."

"Why not? You hunted down the last dragon, didn't you?"

He looked away. "Yes, I did. But there is a world of difference between slaying a dragon and killing an innocent human being. I could not bring myself to do it."

"Then you're just as weak as my father said you were before he took the throne away from you," Zuko sneered.

Iroh looked at him again. "There is no weakness in choosing not to kill. In fact, it takes even greater strength to _know_ the consequences for disobeying and to accept them."

Zuko resumed staring at the waves. "At least you weren't banished."

Silence reigned for several moments before Iroh spoke. "Her name was Maru."

He turned around. "Huh?"

"I may not have killed the Avatar," Iroh elaborated, "But I _did_ go after her. I even captured her."

"And you learned her name?"

He nodded. "She was sixteen years old, just like you. The poor girl had just been informed that she was the Avatar. It was an awful burden for her to bear."

Zuko's features softened. "I'd imagine so."

"I pleaded with my father to keep her alive. I told him that if the Avatar were to die, she would just be reincarnated. Into the Fire Nation, no less. It would be more prudent to keep her alive—imprisoned, but alive."

Iroh looked down. "But he disagreed. When your grandfather faced the Avatar, he was almost fully realized. He had mastered water, earth and fire—but not air."

"Because all the Air Nomads were killed a hundred years ago."

"It was still a difficult battle," he replied. "So difficult that he was very nearly defeated. If he were not a firebending prodigy, I do not think he would have survived, much less won." He sighed. "Because of this, he demanded that I kill her right away. In his view, the longer she was kept alive, the more of a threat she would become. But I still could not do it."

"Then what _did_ you do?"

He looked up. "I let her go."

"Even though you knew what would happen?"

Iroh nodded. "When my father found out, he stripped me of my birthright and made your father the Crown Prince. _He_ was given the task of hunting her down."

"Why did you let that happen? Weren't you angry over losing everything?"

"No. Because I did not lose anything I _cared_ about. I chose to forsake it all the moment I undid the Avatar's chains and told her to run."

It was quiet for several moments. "Uncle, why are you telling me all this?"

"You should always know who it is that you have decided to make your enemy," Iroh answered. "And whether or not they truly are. Even if your answer is different from that of the one who sent you to kill them."

He nodded. "I understand."

Iroh smiled, and his voice took on a lighter tone. "Also, you asked."

Zuko laughed.

* * *

It was almost sundown when they reached the island. The Fire Sage's temple had been built into the side of the volcano that had brought the land to the surface. Zuko regarded it briefly before turning to his uncle.

"Here we are."

"Indeed. Isn't it magnificent?"

He looked at it again. "I suppose."

"Avatar Roku laid the foundation for this place himself," Iroh continued as they drew closer. "Some say he even carved a secret tunnel network by bending the magma from the volcano. It was something only the Avatar could do."

"Because it combines firebending and earthbending?"

"Also water and air, although to a lesser extent," he answered. "Lava is earth in its most primal state. It is hot like fire, and it flows like water. It also heats the very air around it. It combines all the properties of the four elements into one."

"Like the Avatar," Zuko realized.

He nodded. "It is said that when the world was born, everything was made of lava. The four elements lived as one." He paused. "Slowly, though, everything began to separate. Water came and cooled the lava, and it hardened to form earth. Fire lived on through the sun, and air surrounded everything."

"But the lava survived, didn't it? We still see it, even now."

"Exactly. It was lava that created this island, and all the rest of the land in the Fire Nation. It still thrives, deep within our planet's heart. It is a force of change, destroying all in its path and creating anew."

"Like a volcanic eruption!"

"Yes. When the four elements were one, the lava flowed freely. But when separated, the individual elements can block its flow. Water and air cause it to cool and stop. Earth blocks it completely, causing pressure to build up. Eventually it explodes."

Zuko sighed. "What are you trying to tell me, Uncle?"

"It has to do with what I was saying earlier. You already noticed that lava is exactly like the Avatar. It is a force of nature. If you allow it to flow freely, it will not harm you. But if you attempt to block its path, you will never survive its fury."

"Are you telling me I shouldn't be going after the Avatar?"

He shook his head. "I am not telling you anything other than this: you _must_ be certain that the choices you make are _yours_ , and not those of someone else. You shape your own destiny."

Zuko turned around. "Sounds to me like you know more than you're telling."

"What?" Iroh looked away. "What would give you that idea?"

"You're only this cryptic when you're hiding something. What is it?"

"I'm not hiding _anything_!" he insisted. "You are being paranoid."

"You already know where the Avatar is, don't you?" He grabbed his uncle by the chest plate and brought him closer. "Tell me!"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you do!" Zuko accused, shaking him. "Tell me who the Avatar is!"

Iroh glared. "Why? So that you can face your own death?"

"No! So that I can face my _destiny_!"

"If that is the path you choose, then there _is_ no difference!"

"I don't care! Tell me who it is!"

"No!" Iroh swatted his nephew's arms aside, then pushed him back with a palm strike to the chest. Zuko fell hard on the deck.

He sighed, smoothing his robes before calmly extending a hand. Zuko turned away from it and got up on his own. Iroh returned the hand to his side.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I shouldn't have done that."

"It is alright. I know how much going after the Avatar means to you."

Zuko looked down. "I still shouldn't have said those things. You've always been honest with me before. I don't see why you'd hide anything from me now."

"Um... right." He pointed his eyes away from his nephew. "It looks like we are about to run aground."

"Stop the ship!" Zuko ordered, and he was obeyed. "Let's go, Uncle."

"Right behind you, Prince Zuko!" They both headed for the smaller craft that was about to be lowered into the water.

"The Spirits had better have a good reason for calling us here," Zuko muttered before climbing into the driver's seat.

Iroh got in on the other side. "Actually, I just remembered. It's the winter solstice!"

Once they were both onboard, the craft began its slow descent down the ramp into the waves below. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The winter solstice is when the barrier between our world and the Spirit World is at its thinnest. The Spirits can cross over without much effort."

"I'm sure that's great news for _you_ ," Zuko quipped as the craft touched water. "But why am _I_ here?" As soon as the chain was disconnected, he brought them around to the side of the ship.

Iroh shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then I guess there's only one way to find out." He gunned the throttle and headed for the shore.

* * *

The sun was just above the horizon when the two of them finally reached the temple. They walked through the giant doorway and into the temple itself. "Hello?" Zuko called out. "Anybody here?"

Nobody answered. They strode further inside.

"It is a large place," Iroh commented after a few moments. Perhaps they did not hear you."

"Or they're not here. Something's wrong."

As if on cue, five figures dressed in red darted out from behind the pillars behind them, blocking their exit. Zuko took a fighting stance. "What is the meaning of this?"

Iroh was still standing normally. "Hello there. We are—"

"We _know_ who you are," the lead Fire Sage interrupted. "State your business."

Zuko did not relax his stance. "I need to know the identity of the Avatar."

The man smiled. "I believe we can help you with that."

Then all the Fire Sages bowed.

The sight shocked Zuko out of his stance. "What are you doing? I thought you were going to tell me who the Avatar is!"

"I believe they are," Iroh answered before bowing as well.

"Damn it, what is going on?"

The lead sage looked up, still smirking. "It is our honor to serve you, Avatar Zuko."

Zuko blinked. Then he stared. His body trembled as he tried to comprehend this new information.

Finally, he exploded.

" _What_?"

The Fire Sages rose, and so did Iroh. Zuko resumed his fighting stance. "Don't come any closer!"

The lead Sage raised a hand. "Oh, please. We're not going to hurt you."

"Why not if you think I'm the Avatar?"

"In the past, the Fire Sages served only the Avatar," another of the Sages answered. "Now we serve the Fire Lord." He gestured to them. " _And_ his family, of course."

Zuko still did not relax. "What makes you think I _am_ the Avatar?"

"We have known for quite some time," the lead Sage replied. "Your four favorite toys as a child each belonged to a past Avatar. _Your_ past lives."

"That's impossible!" he insisted, and flames trailed as he swept his arm diagonally downward. "My destiny is to _hunt_ the Avatar!"

"Destiny is a funny thing," Iroh countered, putting a hand on his shoulder like he had when he said those exact words to Zuko almost three years earlier, when they stood at the Western Air Temple. "You never know how things are going to turn out."

"And besides," the lead Sage added, "You cannot very well hunt yourself."

Slowly, Zuko drew his arms back to his sides, and his feet returned to a neutral position. "If what you say is true, then how am I still alive?"

"Your father never knew you were the Avatar," said Iroh.

He turned around, removing his uncle's hand from his shoulder. "But _you_ did?"

"Actually, it was your mother who told me." He looked down. "Right before she disappeared."

Zuko's good eye narrowed to match his other one. "I _knew_ you were hiding something from me."

"Well, yeah, but could you blame me? Besides, I did not think that you would believe me."

"I still don't." He turned back to the Fire Sages. "How can _I_ be the Avatar? My family is responsible for hunting down and _killing_ three consecutive generations of Avatars. How can the universe possibly choose _me_ after that?"

"That is not how the reincarnation cycle works," the lead Sage replied sternly, then suddenly smiled and changed his tone. "But what better way to ensure the survival of the Avatar, than by placing him in the very family that seeks to destroy him?"

Zuko's mind boggled. "That makes no sense!"

"Sure it does," said Iroh. "Your mother never let anything happen to you."

He looked in his uncle's direction again and scowled. "What does _that_ mean?"

Iroh looked away. "Nothing."

Deciding to let it drop, Zuko turned back to the Fire Sages. "I still need more proof."

"Then come with us." The Sages started to move.

Zuko and Iroh followed.

The sages led them down several hallways, pausing to open a secret door by firebending into a small hole. The ornate surroundings gave way to a rough cavern, and Zuko felt the heat hit him like a wave. He suddenly understood how lava was related to airbending. "Is this the secret passage you told me about?" he whispered to his uncle.

Iroh nodded.

After about thirty feet of traversing a flat trail, they came to a set of stairs. Zuko could not see the top. He waited for the Fire Sages to start ascending, then he followed.

"I have a question," he said as they ascended. "Why did you block our exit like that if you weren't going to harm us? It looked like a surprise attack to me."

Iroh chuckled. "Oh, they do that to everybody."

"Everybody who comes unannounced, anyway," one of the Sages clarified.

"I'll be sure and send a messenger hawk next time," Zuko muttered.

"Besides, we needed to be sure that you would not just leave without hearing everything," said the lead Sage. "This opportunity may not come again."

They reached the top of the staircase. A trapdoor slid open and they stepped out into a very large room. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember what I said about the Winter Solstice being the time when Spirits can cross over into our world?" Iroh replied.

He nodded.

"Well..." He gestured in front of them.

The room was massive. It was circular in shape, and so large that Zuko could not even see the entire thing. Pillars ran the circumference, and he was sure they continued around the corners where he could not currently see. The pillars held sconces, which were really unnecessary at the moment due to the tremendous windows that let in a large amount of light. The door in the middle was almost excessively ornate, with five dragons' heads whose mouths were open in an eternal roar.

"It's the entrance to Avatar Roku's shrine," Zuko realized.

"Yes," the lead Sage confirmed. "Only the Avatar can speak with him, and only before sundown on the Solstice."

"And this will prove I'm the Avatar?"

"Yes."

He stepped forward. "Well then what are we waiting for?"

The Fire Sages nodded in unison, then turned around to face the door. In a synchronized motion, they extended their fists, and fire surged into each dragon's mouth for a full five seconds. The middle dragon split, and the dragons to each side swung around as the door opened seemingly by itself.

They turned again and bowed at the waist. "Avatar Roku is waiting for you inside."

Zuko began walking forward. The Sages parted to allow him through to the Shrine. As soon as he passed through the oversized doors, they closed. A blue light flashed afterwards, sealing him inside.

"Well," Iroh began after a moment, "this looks like it could take a while." Taking off his rucksack, he rummaged through it and produced a kettle and full china set. "Who wants some tea?"

The Sages just looked at each other.

* * *

"Hello?" Zuko called as soon as the doors shut behind him. "Avatar Roku? Are you there?"

No one answered. He sighed and took in his surroundings. A circular pattern had been carved into the floor, which Zuko recognized as a calendar from a similar design in his father's palace. He looked at the door behind him, and saw a beam of sunlight refracted through a gem embedded just above it. He kept his eye on the light as he turned around, sighing when he saw where it ended.

"It's just a statue," he grumbled to himself, then turned to leave.

Without warning, a gust of wind began to swirl around him. Zuko brought up his arms in front of him and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in a different place.

"What in the...?" Zuko lowered his arms. Looking around, he discovered that he was standing on untamed earth instead of the calendar.

"Hello, Zuko."

He knew who it was before he even turned around. "Avatar Roku."

Roku smiled. "I've been waiting for you."

* * *

"More Jasmine?"

Iroh and the Fire Sages were sitting on the floor of the shrine in a perfect circle. A fire was burning in the middle, and a pot rested on top of it. Iroh picked up the kettle into which he had poured the tea and offered it to one of the Sages, whose name he had learned was Shyu.

"Yes, please." He extended his cup, and the tea was carefully poured out. He brought the cup back to himself and took a sip. "Tell us, General Iroh: how did you know to bring your nephew to our temple?"

Iroh returned the kettle to its place. "Ever since my journey into the Spirit World, I have been able to see and communicate with Spirits. They told me I had to bring Zuko here at once."

"That is amazing," Shyu replied. The other sages did not look as impressed, but he failed to notice. "How long have you known that Zuko was the Avatar?"

"Five years," the former General answered. "Shortly after I retreated from Ba Sing Se, I received a letter from Princess Ursa, Zuko's mother. In it she said that I was the only person she could trust. She told me that Zuko was the Avatar."

He closed his eyes. "She also told me that my father, Fire Lord Azulon, had somehow figured this out, and was planning on having Zuko eliminated—by his own father."

Shyu gasped. The other sages did not react.

"Ursa begged me to look after Zuko. It was not until after I returned home to find my father dead and my brother crowned Fire Lord, that I understood why."

"She was not there?"

Iroh shook his head sadly. "No."

* * *

I guess this means the Fire Sages were telling the truth."

"Yes, it would appear that way," Roku answered with a smirk.

"But why? I understand that the Avatar was supposed to be reincarnated into the Fire Nation, but why _me_ specifically?"

"Every Avatar asks that same question," he replied. "I asked it when the Fire Sages revealed my true identity on my sixteenth birthday, and the Avatars between you and I had plenty more reason to ask it, because it was essentially a death sentence."

"That's not answering my question."

Roku smiled. "I don't need to. You have already been given the answer. I am just making a passing observation."

He pondered what the lead Sage had said earlier. "Because the universe figured I'd be safer if I ended up being the very person I was trying to kill?"

"More or less."

Zuko huffed. "Why does everybody older than me insist on making me decipher what they're saying? Wouldn't it be faster just to _tell_ me?"

"No. You would be getting the advice, but not the wisdom to apply it. Information _learned_ is better than information given. It is far better to figure things out for _yourself_ , so that you can understand the deeper meaning behind them."

"Then why bother asking you at all?"

"I am your guide, Zuko." He smiled, as though chuckling at an inside joke. "One of them, anyway. I am here to give you direction, but _you_ must follow the path to its end."

"Hmph."

Roku stood quietly for several moments. "I can show you where to begin."

Zuko crossed his arms. "Tell me then."

* * *

"Having lost my son, Lu Ten, in the siege of Ba Sing Se, I was not very eager to return home," Iroh said, then took another sip of his tea. "I refused to attend my father's funeral. Not only was I still in the Earth Kingdom at the time, but my only son's death had devastated me to the point where I abandoned my efforts at Ba Sing Se. I do not think I would have been able to keep my composure had I gone."

He sighed. "But I missed my chance to talk with Ursa. It would not have mattered, though. She was not at the funeral either."

"Why?" Shyu asked as he set down his tea.

"My father was still in perfect health when I left for Ba Sing Se. He remained that way until he died unexpectedly. I suspect his plan to eliminate Zuko was the reason."

Shyu's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying she… murdered him?"

"There is no other explanation. In her letter she told me that she was going to do whatever it took to keep her son alive. I could hardly blame her."

"But she murdered your father. Were you not the least bit angry?"

Iroh closed his eyes and lowered his head. "My father and I did not part on the best of terms. I loved him as a son was supposed to, but nothing more. And he was not too fond of me either. It was one of the reasons I went to Ba Sing Se in the first place."

"What happened?"

He looked up. "I refused to kill the Avatar."

* * *

"I'm sure you are well aware that the Avatar must master all four elements in order," said Roku. "But the last hundred years have changed things. The next element in your cycle is air, but…."

"There aren't any airbenders left."

"Exactly. It took me three years to master airbending, twice that for water, and then another three for earth. But you will not have that luxury."

"Why not?"

"Sozin's comet, the one your great-grandfather used to wipe out the Air Nomads, is coming back. At summer's end."

Zuko's good eye widened. "That's only nine months away!"

"I know. Because of this, you cannot learn the elements one at a time. You _must_ find a waterbending teacher."

"What about air?"

"I am sure you will figure out the answer to that on your own."

Zuko glared. "That's just a fancy way of telling me you don't know."

Roku sighed. "I am not your _only_ guide, Zuko. The wisdom of all the past Avatars is available to you. You just need to look deep inside yourself."

"So one of them knows?"

"Perhaps. The Avatar after me never made it past air. The other two never learned it at all."

"Then how am _I_ supposed to figure it out?"

"You will, when the time is right. Have faith, Zuko. You have never been one to give up without a fight." Roku's form started drifting away, but his voice remained right next to Zuko's ear.

"What's going on?"

"The sun is setting, and our time is almost at an end. I offer you this one last piece of wisdom: listen to _yourself_."

Then the light passed over the statue, and Avatar Roku was gone.

* * *

"Since then, I have thought of Zuko as my own son," Iroh concluded. "I have kept my promise to Ursa. I am very proud of him."

"Wow," Shyu breathed. "He must be very grateful to have you as his uncle."

"Well, actually..."

The doors started sliding open, and they all stood. Iroh began to walk toward his nephew.

When he reached them, Zuko was staring quietly at the floor. "So," he said, not looking at his uncle. "I'm the Avatar."

"It would appear that way."

"Then I guess there's only one thing to do." Grabbing the dagger that he kept on his belt, Zuko pulled it out of the sheath. He raised it slowly towards his neck.

Iroh gasped. "Zuko, what are you doing?"

Zuko ignored him, bringing the dagger up and over his head. Meanwhile his other hand had closed firmly around his ponytail. He cut it clean off, so that only a small, square patch remained.

Moving beside him, Iroh held his hand out to receive the dagger, with which he severed his own topknot. Then, as one, they dropped the hair at the statue's feet.

As though suddenly free of a tremendous weight, Zuko smiled at his uncle. "Let's go."

* * *

Two figures boarded the ship, and a third party observed them from a distance. Lowering his telescope, he turned around. "They have returned to their ship, Commander Zhao."

Zhao, a dark-haired man with sideburns and a topknot, stepped forward. "Let me see." He grabbed the telescope. "Ah, yes."

"Who is it, sir?"

"Just a couple of traitors." He handed the telescope back.

"Should we sink them?"

Zhao shook his head. "No. I have a feeling that whatever the Fire Sages told them, it's going to lead them straight to the Avatar."

"You want us to follow them then?"

"Yes. But not too closely." He grabbed the telescope again and peered through it. "We don't want Prince Zuko to know we're on to him yet."


	2. Full Circle Part 2

Katara watched the water as it carried the canoe through what was otherwise a field of ice. The gentle wake created as they passed over the smooth surface was quickly reabsorbed, as if it had never existed at all. Story of her life.

"Why do I keep coming along on these fishing trips?" she groaned, setting her elbows on the rim of the boat and resting her chin in her hands. "We never catch anything."

"Because you enjoy spending time with your brother?" proposed Sokka, who was holding a spear over his head.

"More like you and I are the only children left in the village who aren't still in diapers," she riposted. "There's nobody else my age that I can hang out with."

"Ah, you don't _need_ anybody else to hang out with," he insisted proudly, then suddenly straightened when he saw a fish. "There's one!" He raised his spear.

"Wait!" She put a hand in front of him to stop him from throwing it. "I want to try something."

"Oh no, not your magic water again!"

"I _told_ you, it's _not_ magic," she argued. "It's a spiritual connection that allows certain people to manipulate a given element."

"In other words, magic."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Just let me try this _before_ you waste a perfectly good spear."

"Okay, fine," he agreed, putting the spear down. "But if this fish gets away, you're rowing us home."

"Deal," she replied, slipping off her gloves and feeling the cold sting them like a thousand tiny icicles. She squeezed her hands into fists a few times to warm them up before holding them out in front of her. Katara closed her eyes, trying to imagine the water as snow that she could grab and sculpt.

When she opened them again, she discovered that her wish had come true. The fish, now confused, tried in vain to wriggle free of its prison but she somehow held it in. She pulled her arms closer to herself, and the water followed. Once the sphere was over the canoe, she let it drop, and the fish hit the bottom with a splash.

"There, see?" she said, putting her gloves back on. "That's a lot nicer than a spear."

"You realize we're still just gonna cut it up and eat it, right?"

She crossed her arms and huffed.

Sokka's face suddenly turned white. "Uh, Katara?"

"What?"

He pointed over her shoulder. "What's that?"

* * *

"We are almost at the South Pole, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he joined his nephew on the bow of the ship. "Although I do not know what you expect to find there."

"We've been over this already, Uncle. I don't have time to learn the elements in order. And since there's nobody alive who can teach me airbending, I'll just have to find a waterbending teacher."

"And how do you plan on explaining that to the crew? They are still under the impression that you are _hunting_ the Avatar."

Zuko closed his eyes. "I'll think of something."

"Like _what_? You cannot lie to them forever if you expect them to remain loyal to you."

"I _said_ , I'll think of something," he snapped, opening his eyes again.

"Sir?"

He turned around. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Jee, an older man with grey hair arranged in a flat-top and long sideburns, gave a slight bow of his head before giving his report. "Our lookouts have spotted two Water Tribe members in a canoe directly in front of us. What do you recommend we do?"

"Press forward," he answered. "But alter our course so that we don't run into them. We may be able to follow them to their village."

"Yes Sir." Jee bowed and walked away.

"It is going to be difficult to explain your intentions to the Southern Water Tribe," Iroh said as soon as he was out of earshot. "They have a good reason to be wary of Fire Nation ships."

Zuko ran a hand over his newly grown hair. "I'll just have to convince them I'm different."

* * *

"We have to get back to the village!" Sokka shouted urgently, then grabbed the oar and started to row.

"Aren't you worried about that thing following us?"

He shook his head. "They probably already know where it is. They're most likely heading for it already."

"And you think we can outrun them?"

"We have to try." He rowed furiously, but it wasn't enough. The ship was still gaining on them.

"They're changing course," Katara warned. "They're moving to the side!"

"They must be trying to cut us off," he concluded, rowing even harder.

Katara looked at the ship, then back at her brother. There was just no way they were going to make it. Not even their Tribe's best ships could outrun a Fire Navy warship, and they were in a canoe. Her eyes narrowed and a determined look came over her face.

"I'm going to try something," she announced, then stood up and took off her gloves.

"Katara, what are you doing?"

She ignored him, concentrating only on the water. She reached out to it with her mind, until she felt a connection. Only then did she start moving her arms.

They started going faster.

"Okay, whatever you're doing back there, keep doing it!"

Katara barely heard the comment, focusing on the water instead. She rotated her arms like a pinwheel, bringing them up to a speed that matched that of the warship.

It worked a little too well.

"Uh... Katara?" Sokka pointed to a small iceberg in front of them. "Katara, look out!"

It was too late. The impact shook the canoe, and Katara opened her eyes just in time to see the fish that she had caught earlier heading straight for her face. It slapped her hard, pushing her over the edge and into the water, where she was carried swiftly away by the wake she had created.

* * *

Zuko's good eye widened and he lowered the telescope he had been using. "Full speed ahead!" he ordered. "Stop when you get beside her!"

Lieutenant Jee wrinkled his face in confusion. "Get beside whom?"

"The girl who just fell out of the canoe, you idiot! Hurry!"

"Yes Sir." He bowed and ran to the bridge. A few moments later they started speeding up. As ordered, the ship came to a halt when they reached her.

"Lower the anchor!" Zuko ordered before the Lieutenant had another chance to speak. He started stripping off his armor.

"Sir, what are you—"

"I said lower it!"

He bowed again. "Yes Sir."

The anchor was located inside a small hole near the bow of the ship. A mechanical winch handled the raising and lowering of its massive chain. After stripping down to just his pants and tunic, Zuko leaped overboard in a perfect swan dive.

As he plummeted, Zuko reached out for the chain that held the anchor in place. It slowed his fall just enough so that when he reached the bottom, it was nearly in the water. Lighting a fire in his hand, he brought it to the link that connected the anchor to the rest of the chain. It separated and fell into the water below. He kicked off the hull, launching himself toward the girl and trying not to think about how cold the water would be when he landed.

When Zuko landed in the water, the girl was not flailing around helplessly as he had imagined. Instead she was keeping herself afloat by spreading her arms out and kicking her legs, viewing him with a raised eyebrow the entire time.

"You know," commented Jee as he and Iroh leaned over the starboard railing, "we could have just thrown her a line."

Iroh stroked his beard. "I do not think that would have been as dramatic."

"Grab my hand!"

She stared at him defiantly, letting her teeth chatter but otherwise not making a sound.

"N-no," she finally shuddered.

"Are you insane? You'll freeze to death out here!"

"R-r-rather die here than on a F-fire Nation sh-ship."

Zuko rolled his eyes. He figured that he would be met with skepticism but this was beyond ridiculous. "I'm not going to kill you! Or hurt you at all, for that matter."

"G-go to h-hell," she snarled through chattering teeth.

With a sigh, he lunged forward and wrapped his arm tight around her, ignoring the sudden thrashing this provoked. Being a firebender gave him a natural advantage in terms of maintaining his internal body temperature, but if he spent too much more time out here then he was going to start shivering.

"Pull us up!" he ordered with a shout, and moments later the chain started winding back. He held on tight as the two of them were lifted high above the waves.

The girl was still struggling, however. He managed to keep his grip on her for most of the trip, but when they were about fifteen feet above the waves she landed a lucky shot with her elbow to his gut, causing him to lose his grip and sending them plummeting towards the water once again.

Zuko flailed wildly, trying to recover his grip on the chain but failing utterly. The two of them entered the water again with a crash.

With a growl, Zuko latched onto her again. "Are you completely crazy?"

"Let me _go_!" she insisted, but he refused to comply. In her struggles she lifted her arms high above her head, summoning forth a gigantic wave that slammed them against the side of the ship. Zuko barely managed to avoid having his head smashed against the metal.

She wasn't so lucky.

The girl's body suddenly went limp in his arms, and for a single despairing moment Zuko thought he had lost her. Somehow, through the chaos of the waves, he managed to confirm that her heart was still beating, and figured she might survive this, if he could only get her on board.

"Grab this!" Iroh shouted from above, tossing down a rope. Zuko gripped it tightly, holding fast as the crew above him pulled them to safety. As soon as they were on board, he laid the girl down on the cold deck and noticed something that he hadn't before.

There was blood coming from her ears. _That_ wasn't good.

"Well," Jee remarked from behind him. "That's _one_ way to take a prisoner."

He stood up. "She's not a prisoner."

"You're telling me that was a _rescue_?"

Zuko turned around. "What else would it be?"

"Well... she's part of the Water Tribe," Jee responded as if that made any difference.

"She's a civilian, not to mention a _child_." Zuko rebutted, gesturing behind him to where she lay on the deck. "And in case you hadn't noticed, she has blood coming out of her _ears_."

Iroh was already crouched over her still form. "She is breathing," he announced, and Zuko turned around. "But she needs to be warmed up quickly or she will go into shock."

He nodded. "Get her inside and into some dry clothes. Put her near a fire."

"First we need to determine why her ears are bleeding," Iroh said. "She might simply have a concussion, or there may be more serious damage to her spine. We have to be very careful."

Zuko turned to two of the deckhands. "Get a stretcher from the infirmary! Make sure and bring the head blocks!" Though his medical knowledge paled in comparison to his uncle's, he knew that would at least keep her head immobilized so that her spine would not be at risk of any further damage. The men both bowed and started running to fulfill the order.

"If I may be so bold, Prince," said Jee. "If we aren't taking the girl as our prisoner, then what _are_ we doing with her?"

He turned around and looked him in the eye. "Taking her home."

* * *

"Katara!"

Sokka screamed his sister's name, but there was nothing he could do. The current she created had carried her away. The warship was advancing even more rapidly now. He couldn't make it in time.

"Katara!"

Tears formed as he sat there, unable to do anything other than watch. The canoe was still lodged in the ice, and he started chipping at it with his spear. After a few ineffectual pokes, he grabbed his other weapon, a cross between a sword and a club, and began hammering away with that.

It still wasn't fast enough.

"Katara!"

The ship had reached her now. He could barely make out a figure leaping overboard, then landing in the water beside her. A few moments later, there was a wave heading his way.

A _big_ one.

"Waugh!" he shouted, hammering faster but to no avail. The wave reached him in seconds and sent him and the iceberg further away. As soon as it stopped, Sokka gave the ice one last kick, successfully separating the canoe. He looked back at the Fire Navy ship. His sister had disappeared.

"Katara..."

* * *

"Nngh."

Katara rubbed at her eyes. When she opened them, the world was red and blurry.

"You're awake."

She started blinking several times to bring the world into focus. "What happened?"

"You hit your head. Do you feel alright?"

"Ugh, no." She grabbed her forehead and tried to sit up, but somebody pushed her back down.

"You need to lie down," he told her. "You were bleeding from your ears not too long ago. You're lucky you didn't break your spine. My... the doctor says you need to rest."

"I was... what?" The world gradually came into focus and Katara gasped when she realized where she was. "I'm on a Fire Navy ship!" She tried sitting up again, and he restrained her even more forcefully. "Let go!"

He ignored her. "The doctor said we should start with some basic memory exercises. Do you know your name?"

"Katara."

"Good." He smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"Oh." His smile vanished and he looked away. "I see."

For some reason, pity was the only emotion Katara could feel at the moment. "No, it's not that. You just never gave me your name."

"Oh!" The smile was back. "My name's Zuko!"

And the pity was gone. "Wait, _Zuko_? As in _Prince_ Zuko? The Fire Lord's _son_?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah. That's me."

"What the _hell_ do you want from me?" she screeched, bolting upright before he had a chance to restrain her. "Where am I?"

"Just calm down!" he urged, holding his hands in front of him. "You're in my quarters."

" _Ew_! What kind of sicko _are_ you?"

"Huh?"

"I _knew_ that wasn't a rescue!" she shouted, growing more hysterical by the moment. "I knew you had other plans for me!"

Zuko's good eye widened as he realized what she was implying. "No! That isn't it at all! The infirmary just didn't have any good beds! I figured since it's my fault this happened to you, you could take mine!"

"Oh, I'm sure that's just what you tell all the girls you kidnap right before you..." She felt dizzy. Forming words was suddenly very difficult. "Before you..."

"Look, if I was going to try anything I'd have done it already!" Zuko snapped. "Now lie down before you hurt yourself!"

Her body listened to him, even though her mind was still struggling. She fell unconscious as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Yeah," Zuko said to himself, pulling the sheets back over her. "This is _not_ going to be easy."

* * *

"What the hell was Prince Zuko thinking?" Jee muttered to himself as he plodded down the hall. "Ever since he visited the Fire Sage's temple..."

"Talking to yourself, Lieutenant Jee?"

He started and turned around. "General Iroh! I didn't hear you coming. Did you need something?"

Iroh shook his head. "No. Just wondering what was upsetting you."

He looked away. "It's nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing. Are you angry at my nephew?"

"N-no!" Jee answered a little too quickly. "No," he continued more calmly, "I'm not angry. Just... confused."

"About what?"

He sighed. "The Water Tribe girl. I've never known Prince Zuko to care about anybody except himself."

"Then you do not know him very well," Iroh replied with a smirk.

"Perhaps. But I've never seen him act like this before. Ever since you two went to visit the Fire Sages, Prince Zuko has been..."

"Different?"

Jee nodded. "What exactly happened?"

"That is for him to tell you," he answered. "But I will tell you that it gave him an entirely new outlook on life."

"Does this have anything to do with the Avatar?"

Iroh smiled. "More than you know."

"I don't suppose I ever _will_ know, either," he muttered, looking away. "Nobody ever tells me anything."

"Well, you _are_ just a Lieutenant."

"On the Crown Prince's ship!" he retorted, whirling around and putting a hand on his chest. "I deserve to know!"

"Nobody _deserves_ to know anything," Iroh countered. "Knowledge is a gift, a privilege that must be handed down, not simply taken."

"What's the difference?"

"Consider your teachers for a moment. You are a firebender, yes?"

"Of course," he answered. "I had some of the finest instruction in the Fire Nation."

"And did your masters ever expect you to perform past what you had yet to fully learn?"

Jee shook his head.

"And why not?"

"Because I could have hurt myself."

Iroh nodded. "Exactly. Fire can be dangerous if you are not able to control it, and so can knowledge if you learn it before you are ready."

"That sounds like something you should be telling your nephew."

"Oh, believe me; I have had this conversation with him before. But I do not reserve all my lessons for him. _You_ need to know this too."

"Well thank you for telling me absolutely nothing," Jee snapped, and started to walk away. "I'm beginning to see why Prince Zuko always used to resent you so much."

Iroh sighed. "Do you want to know how my nephew got his scar?"

Jee stopped, then slowly turned around. He nodded.

* * *

Katara opened her eyes. A cold metal ceiling was the first thing she saw, followed by red banners that bore the insignia of the Fire Nation.

She was still on the ship.

Sitting up slowly, she saw Zuko on the other side of the room, kneeling in front of a row of candles that rose and fell with each breath. He was meditating.

Katara groaned and brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing out the crusty substance that had accumulated during sleep. When she lowered them again, she did a double-take.

"What am I wearing?"

The candles suddenly swelled to a ridiculous height and Zuko stumbled backwards. He quickly got back up. "Oh good, you're awake."

"Thank you, Prince Obvious," she quipped. "Now answer the question."

"Oh." He started scratching the back of his head. "You're wearing some of my old clothes. We're about the same size."

Katara quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I didn't change you. The doctor took care of that."

"Gee, thanks. That makes me feel _so_ much better."

"Would you rather freeze to death in wet clothes?" he snapped.

"I seem to remember telling you I would."

"I think you lied." He walked closer to her and sat down cross-legged on the floor. "Why do you hate me so much anyway?"

She glared defiantly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I would, actually," he replied. "I just saved your life and you're still treating me like your worst enemy. What did I ever do to you?"

"More like what your _country_ did to me," she muttered hatefully. "What your _grandfather_ did to my people."

Zuko sighed and prepared himself for the coming tirade. When he started down this path he knew he would eventually have to pay for the sins of his ancestors, but that didn't make the reality of it any easier to bear. "What was that?"

"The Fire Nation took my mother away," she answered, glaring. "They've been raiding our village for the last sixty years because of some battle your grandfather almost lost."

"When he fought against the Avatar," Zuko realized.

She nodded. "He was from our tribe. After the Fire Lord killed him, he raided our village year after year and rounded up all our waterbenders to keep us from taking revenge."

"Wait, did you just say he rounded up all the waterbenders?"

"Uh, yeah, I did. _Great_ listening skills there."

He ignored the remark. "Are there any left?"

"No," she lied.

"I see." He looked down.

Once again, Katara was nearly overwhelmed with feelings of pity. This time, though, she resisted. "Oh, did I disappoint you? Were you looking forward to massacring more of my people?"

The expression on his face when he looked up only made her feel worse, but she did her best to hide it. "No. I just didn't know."

"What, you mean your school teachers never told you? I would have figured it'd be your favorite bedtime story."

"No!" he shouted, and the candles flared up behind him. "I'll admit, the Fire Nation's done some pretty terrible things, but we don't teach our children to be murderers!"

"I'm sorry," Katara said before she could stop herself.

"It's alright," he replied calmly. "The truth is, they left a lot of things out of the Fire Nation's history. Ever since I was banished, I've been learning something new every day."

"Wait, you were banished?" He wasn't the only one learning new things. Katara was starting to reconsider her position.

He nodded. "I disrespected my father by speaking out of turn in one of his war meetings. He challenged me to an Agni Kai."

"What's that?"

"A firebending duel."

Her eyes grew wider.

"I couldn't face him. I got down on my knees and begged for his forgiveness." Zuko closed his eyes. "But that only made it worse. He said I was a coward for not facing him, and that I needed to learn respect." He pointed to the left side of his face. "So he gave me this scar and sent me away. He said the only way I could return home was if I captured the Avatar."

Katara's hands had moved to cover her mouth. Lowering them, she asked: "How long ago was this?"

"Almost three years."

"But you couldn't have been more than thirteen years old!"

Zuko nodded. "Exactly."

"How could your father get away with that? I mean, I know he's Fire Lord and all, but why didn't your mother say anything?"

"Because," he answered, lowering his head. "She wasn't there. She disappeared two years before that."

She gasped. "You don't mean...?"

"Yeah." He looked up. "I lost my mother too."

* * *

It seemed like an eternity, but Sokka finally reached the village. As soon as the canoe struck ice, he was on his feet and racing toward his home.

"Gran-Gran!" he shouted upon seeing the woman who had served as the caretaker of the village while his father was away. Even though Sokka was nominally in charge, she still made most of the important decisions. He had no problem with that.

"What is it, Sokka?" she asked once he got closer, doubled over and trying to catch his breath.

"Katara's been kidnapped!" he blurted out quickly, then went back to panting.

Gran-Gran's eyes went wide. "By whom?"

"Fire Navy." He was starting to regain his composure. "She fell overboard and got carried out by currents, and they snatched her up." He looked down. "I couldn't save her."

She put a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up again. "I am sure you did everything you could," she reassured him. She looked to the rest of the villagers. "If the Fire Navy is in the area, then they must be heading for this village. I would have thought they'd be above raiding us when all our men are away, but I suppose there are no depths that they will not sink to."

She released his shoulder. "Also, since they kidnapped my granddaughter, they must plan on using her as collateral for some sort of trade. Sokka and I will meet with them to negotiate. The rest of you should stay inside."

The rest of the villagers nodded and muttered amongst themselves, but Sokka was confused. "Why aren't you telling _me_ to stay inside?"

"You are Hakoda's son," she answered. "And you are the Chief in his absence. Also, it is _your_ sister that they have kidnapped. You should be a part of this."

Sokka nodded. "I won't let you down."

* * *

"Wait just a minute."

"Huh?"

"What _are_ you doing here if you're not out to raid our village?" Katara asked, crossing her arms. How do I know you're not just telling me a sob story so I'll turn traitor?"

Zuko blinked. "What would give you that idea?"

"Well, I _am_ the Chief's daughter. How do I know you didn't plan this?"

"Because that would be totally insane!" He threw his arms in the air, and the flames from the candles followed. "I didn't know you were the Chief's daughter until you told me just now! And even if I had, what could I _possibly_ have to gain from turning an insignificant little peasant like you?"

Katara looked deeply hurt at first, then quickly disguised it with a glare. She turned away.

"Wait! I didn't mean that!"

She turned completely around. Zuko heard what sounded like crying.

"Katara..." He put a hand on her shoulder.

The next thing Zuko knew, he was on the floor with a wet face, and a very angry waterbender standing over him.

"Don't _touch_ me!" she shouted, and Zuko felt the ship rock a little bit. "And don't say my name! I am _not_ a peasant! Don't think I'll _ever_ forgive you for calling me that!" She pointed hatefully in his direction.

Then she collapsed.

"Katara?" Zuko held out his arms and caught her before they collided. Pushing her gently to the side, he got up and maneuvered her body so that she was lying down comfortably on the mattress. Katara groaned in protest the whole time.

"I don't know why, but you're paralyzed," he told her in a reassuring tone. "Try not to panic. Just sleep it off like last time."

She mumbled something that he could not quite make out, but her eyes closed and she went to sleep, which was all Zuko needed to know.

The door opened and he shot to his feet. Iroh entered the room.

"Is everything alright, Prince Zuko?"

"Just fine," he answered, drying his face with a towel. "And don't call me that. It's not my title anymore."

"It is until you decide to reveal the truth to the crew," Iroh reminded him. "Which you had better do soon if you plan on returning that girl to the Water Tribe."

Zuko closed his eyes. "I know, Uncle." He opened them again. "Could you watch over her for a bit?" I need to go train."

He nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you." He left the room.

* * *

"Commander Zhao!"

A sigh. "What is it, Lieutenant Pang?"

"We've plotted their course, Sir. Prince Zuko is headed for the Southern Water Tribe."

"Well of course he is," Zhao replied, turning his back on the spectacular view of his ship's deck that the command tower afforded. "There isn't anything else out here except icebergs and penguins. And I doubt he's after either of _those_."

He faced the deck again. "Of course, the question becomes: what is he after?"

"Perhaps he is performing a raid?"

Zhao shook his head. "Zuko and his crew aren't officially part of any fleet. His father only gave him the ship to be rid of him faster. And besides, all the men of that tribe left two years ago to assist the Earth Kingdom in the war. There isn't any _reason_ to raid them."

"So then what do you suppose he's after?"

"What he's been after ever since his father banished him almost three years ago," he decided. "The Avatar."

Lieutenant Pang looked confused. "But why the Water Tribe? Isn't the current Avatar supposed to be part of the Fire Nation?"

"I'm sure Prince Zuko is well aware of that," said Zhao. "Which is exactly what makes this so confusing. But whatever the Fire Sages told him, I'm certain it will lead him—and therefore _us_ —directly to the Avatar."

"Pardon me if I am being too bold," Pang said hesitantly, "but why are _you_ so interested in the Avatar?"

Zhao smirked. "The Avatar is the only person standing in the way of the Fire Nation's total victory. As a servant of the Fire Lord, should I not be concerned about his capture?"

"Of course you should, Sir. It's just... hunting down the Avatar has traditionally been the duty of the Crown Prince."

"Only for the last hundred years," said Zhao. "But you're right: the Crown Prince _is_ usually tasked with hunting down and killing the Avatar to prove himself worthy. _Usually_."

"What do you mean?"

He turned around. "I was there the day Fire Lord Ozai banished and disowned his son. He told Zuko that the only way he would be accepted back is if he captured the Avatar, instead of killing him. Now why do you suppose he said that?"

"I... do not know, Sir."

"Fire Lord Ozai had challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai after Zuko disrespected him by speaking out of turning the War Room. But Zuko refused to fight him. He was weak and gutless. The Fire Lord decided to teach him a little lesson in respect."

Pang's face had gone pale white.

"He gave Zuko a scar on his face as a permanent reminder of his failure. He then gave him the ultimatum I mentioned earlier. You see, in his eyes, Zuko wasn't worthy of the title Crown Prince, much less Fire Lord. He lacked the dedication it took to actually kill the Avatar. Fire Lord Ozai decided to have Zuko bring the Avatar to him, so that he could do it himself."

"I... see."

Zhao turned back around, linking his hands behind him. "Hunting the Avatar is too dangerous to leave in the hands of a teenager, let alone a coward like Zuko. Therefore it falls to me."

"Of course it does, Sir," Pang said, bowing.

"Now if you have nothing else to report, go check on the crew."

"Yes Sir." He bowed again, then left.

Zhao smiled and continued to stare straight ahead.

* * *

Katara woke to the sound of a lute. The notes were slow and melancholy, forming a pattern that she recognized. Soon, words accompanied the notes.

"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow... Like fragile, tiny shells, drifting in the foam."

The song brought with it memories; memories of a time when she was in her own bed, lying next to Sokka, listening to her mother's voice lull both of them to sleep. Who was singing it now?

"Little soldier boy, comes marching home... Brave soldier boy, comes marching home."

Katara tried sitting up to see who the singer was. But she was still dizzy from earlier, and collapsed.

The mysterious singer was at her side in an instant. "Do not push yourself too hard," he ordered in a voice that she found far more soothing than Zuko's. "When you have suffered an injury like yours, the best course of action is to rest. A young woman _needs_ her rest."

Young woman. That sounded _much_ better than "peasant."

"Who are you?"

"A friend," he answered.

She opened her eyes to get a better look at him. He was old and heavyset, with gray hair and matching beard. He had a very gentle aura about him, one that inspired respect and trust. For some reason she couldn't describe, Katara felt safe in his presence.

"Are you Zuko's father?"

He smiled. "Uncle, actually. Although I do think of him as my son."

"You're his uncle?" she repeated, sitting up more slowly this time. "Then you must be General Iroh."

" _Retired_ General," he corrected, raising a finger for emphasis. "How did you know that?"

"How could I _not_? The Water Tribe isn't as cut off from the rest of the world as you think."

"I never said you were."

Katara had been ready to fire back another retort, but his response surprised her. She was used to arguing, but Iroh didn't even put up a fight. Not a conventional one, anyway. "Well, my Grandmother used to teach me all about different cultures when I was younger. I was always more interested in learning about it than my brother."

"It is always wise to seek knowledge from many different places," said Iroh. "Instead of just one. There is only so much you can learn from a single source."

"Try telling that to my brother," she grumbled. "His head is thicker than permafrost."

Iroh laughed.

"What's so funny?" Katara couldn't help giggling a little herself.

"Oh, just that we have very similar brothers," he answered. "Ozai is not what you would call the understanding type."

Her smile vanished. "Did you just compare my brother to the Fire Lord?"

"No, of course not!" He raised his hands in surrender. "I don't even know him."

"Well, I don't know much about your brother either. So I guess we're even." She fidgeted for a few seconds, then tried to change the subject. "What was that song you were singing just now?"

Iroh smiled reminiscently. "Just something that reminds me of my son."

"Reminds you?" she repeated, noting how his smile faded. "Does that mean he's...?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I lost him in the war five years ago, when my army was laying siege to Ba Sing Se. His death was what finally made me see the futility of my efforts there. So I called off the campaign and left."

"Is that why you think of Zuko as your son?" she asked, realizing with some surprise that she actually cared about the answer. Maybe the Fire Nation wasn't _all_ bad.

"Yes," he answered after a few moments. "And I am very proud of him."

It was quiet for several more moments. "My mother used to sing that song," she revealed, not looking at him. "She told me that every mother in every nation had known it since before the war. It was one of the few things that everybody had in common. She was supposed to be singing it for Sokka, but I got something out of it too."

Tears fell from her eyes, and she did nothing to stop them. "Then the Fire Nation took her away."

She looked up to see that Iroh had closed his eyes, and a pained expression had taken over his face. "If it is any consolation," he said slowly, his voice full of regret, "I never agreed with my father's decision to eliminate the Water Tribe. I was in no position to change it, but I would have if I could. I am so very sorry for your loss."

It wasn't pity she felt, like she had with Zuko. It was more like... understanding. "You have nothing to apologize for," she said. "You're not the one who killed her."

"My condolences in any case," he replied. "Losing a mother is actually something you and my nephew have in common."

"Yeah, he mentioned that."

She witnessed a look of surprise on Iroh's face, as though he had not been expecting that. "Did he tell you why she disappeared?"

Katara shook her head.

"She was forced to leave, because she chose to do something drastic to protect Zuko. She did it because she knew something his father didn't."

"Which was?"

He smiled. "That Zuko was the Avatar."

* * *

Sokka dipped his finger into the bowl, then brought the black war paint toward his face, applying it just below his eye. He repeated the process until his eyes were surrounded by it, then dipped his finger in the snow to wash it clean.

He never wanted this. His father was the leader of the Tribe, not him. He was just a guy with a boomerang.

Dipping his finger into another bowl, Sokka painted his eyebrows white. He applied the rest of it to the area between his mouth and chin.

It wasn't that he disliked the responsibility. He just could not shake the feeling that he wasn't ready for it. What if he failed?

He dipped three fingers into the final bowl, applying gray to every area of his face that was not yet painted. Dipping his finger in the black one last time, he painted a triangle down the middle of his forehead, stopping just below his eyebrows. He applied a single stroke on each side of his chin, then washed his fingers in the snow.

A wolf.

He would not fail. _Could_ not. Not when the Tribe was depending on him.

Not when _Katara_ was depending on him.

Grabbing his trusty boomerang off the floor, Sokka slipped it into the pouch on his back, then opened his eyes.

He wouldn't let her down.

* * *

"Y-you're kidding," Katara said, chuckling in disbelief. "You _have_ to be kidding."

Iroh shook his head. "It is the truth, whether you accept it or not. I have no reason to lie to you."

"There's _plenty_ of reasons!" she shouted, throwing her arms in the air. "Zuko's your nephew so you're obviously very protective of him. You know I'm the chief's daughter, so you could stand a lot to gain by making me want to follow you. And last but not least, there is _no way_ that _can't_ be a lie!"

"Zuko did not believe it at first either," Iroh replied calmly. "But is it really so hard to believe? The last three Avatars belonged to the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, and the Earth Kingdom. What comes next?"

She looked away. "Fire Nation."

"And what is Zuko a part of?"

"But that makes no sense!" she protested, looking at him again. "Your family has been hunting down and killing the Avatar for three straight generations!"

"That was Zuko's argument too," Iroh said. "But that is not how it works. A seed does not get to choose where it is planted. The farmer decides what is sown where. He knows what will grow best and in what conditions. It does not matter what the deeds of the plant who produced the seed are. Would you condemn an entire apple tree just because a few worms happened to ruin some of its fruit?"

Katara stared blankly at him. "I have no idea what you just said."

"Then allow me to explain it a little more clearly," he replied. "Why do you hate the Fire Nation?"

"They killed my mother," she snapped. "They've been raiding our village for the last sixty years out of revenge for some stupid battle."

"And do you believe that Zuko was responsible for any of that?"

Katara opened her mouth to reply, but her words caught in her throat. Was _that_ why she was so mad at him? Had she just been using Zuko as a convenient target for her rage over losing her mother? She didn't like where this was going. "No," she answered quietly. "No, I don't."

"One man is never truly representative of his whole nation," Iroh elaborated. "We tend to lump our enemies together because it makes it easier to forget that they are human beings, just like us. It makes it easier to hate them. Only by understanding where they are coming from can we determine whether they are truly our enemies or not."

"I don't have to understand what would drive someone to murder an innocent woman like my mother," she rebutted. "I don't want to."

"Of course not. But you just admitted that you do not hold Zuko responsible for what happened. So why are you so angry at him?"

She looked away. "I... I don't know."

"You and my nephew are very similar people. You both lost your mothers at a young age. You both lost contact with your fathers for several years. I can tell by the way you are talking to me that you have been forced to grow up very quickly, just like him. And apparently you both have quite a temper." He started to laugh, but stopped when she glared at him. "Sorry."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I am saying that there are far more differences among the individual people of each nation than there are among the nations themselves. Even when we are at each other's throats, we still have so much in common."

Katara understood what he was saying, and she didn't like it. She glared. "Are you telling me the reason I'm so mad at your nephew is because he and I are almost exactly the same?"

"That's a good point," he replied with a chuckle. "But no. Think of _why_ that upsets you."

"Because I judged him right away without stopping to consider that he might actually be a decent person," she answered quickly, as if she had been thinking it this whole time. She hadn't, though; the thought had only occurred to her just now.

"So who are you really angry at?"

Katara looked down and hugged her knees. "Myself."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's my fault this happened. I tried making the canoe go faster. I fell out. I got angry and bent the water around us and I caused myself to get hit on the head." She rubbed the back of her skull, discovering several unseemly lumps. She cringed. "He was just trying to help, and I wouldn't let him."

"Well, he could have tried being a little nicer," Iroh admitted. "Zuko can be a little impatient sometimes."

Katara couldn't stop herself from laughing at that.

"Now, I assume you want your clothes back." He walked over to a corner of the room and retrieved a small blue bundle then came back over and handed them to her.

She blinked. "Uh, yeah. How did you get them dry so quickly?"

"You have been asleep for several hours," he answered. "Also, this is a ship full of firebenders. It was nothing."

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "I don't know why I keep fainting like that, though."

"You took a pretty severe blow to the head," Iroh reminded her. "I have known soldiers who suffered episodes of sudden paralysis after such injuries. Each was brought on by a different emotional trigger."

She tilted her head. "Huh?"

"It is a very strange condition," he explained. "Some would collapse during periods of great stress that would make them think of their injury, others when they were afraid. For the most part, though, the trigger was anger."

Something finally clicked. "I _have_ been getting really angry right before it happens," she realized. "Will it ever stop?"

"Hard to say," he replied. "You hit your head pretty hard. You are lucky you didn't die."

She considered that for a moment before something else occurred to her. "Wait a minute."

"What is it?"

"You said you've seen soldiers with this kind of injury before."

He shrugged. "We were invading the Earth Kingdom. It happens."

"And you've been watching over me while Zuko's off... doing what, exactly?"

"Training."

"Right." She suddenly gasped. "You're the doctor Zuko was talking about!"

"I wouldn't say I'm a _doctor_ ," Iroh replied, his cheeks flushing. "I just know a little battlefield medicine is all."

She brought her legs up to her chest and squeezed them tight. "He said you changed me."

"Er... right." Iroh scratched his head and looked away. "I did not remove your bindings, however. Just dried them while they were still on you. No one else saw, either. There is no need to worry."

Her ears burned. "Now I can see why he didn't want to tell me it was you."

"Yeah, this is pretty awkward," Iroh admitted, forcing another giggle out of her. He stood. "I will leave and let you get changed. Zuko is out on the deck when you are ready to talk to him." He started heading for the door.

"General Iroh?"

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything."

Iroh smiled. "I am not the one you should be thanking. It was Zuko who saved your life."

She blushed. "I guess I kind of owe him an apology, then."

"I am sure he would appreciate it," he said, then walked out the door.

Katara lifted up the heavy red shirt she was wearing and pulled it off. As it passed by her nose, she noticed something. She put her nose to the shirt and sniffed it, and silently prayed that Zuko did not choose this moment to walk back in. That would be awkward. As soon as she identified the smell, she had another question.

"Why does this smell like _tea_?"

* * *

When she emerged on the deck a few minutes later, Katara shivered despite being fully dressed. How long had she been down there? She looked around her. Immediately to her left there was a table which held a tea kettle and several painted tiles. She did not recognize the game. Before she could give it too much thought, something else caught her interest.

Zuko stood a few yards in front of her, eyes closed. She didn't move, afraid that she would ruin his concentration. He stood with his legs and palms together, breathing in and out. After a few moments, he moved.

Turning around before he could see her standing there, Zuko shot a fireball over the bow. He fired another from his left fist, then dipped his torso a bit as he transitioned into an uppercut. Using the momentum he had built up from that, Zuko spun around and elbowed some imaginary opponent in the face, before finishing the form with a final fireball from his right fist.

Pausing only to breathe, he turned to the right, shooting off three quick fireballs from his right leg and then spinning around to deliver a more devastating fourth from his left. He finished off the form with a high kick from his right leg, which created a wall of flame guaranteed to scorch whatever was unlucky enough to be in its path.

He turned around again, this time facing left. He locked his elbows, holding his left arm high and the other one low, then spun around like a top, generating a whirlwind of flame. At the end of the third rotation, he swung upward with his right arm, and the rest of his body followed him into the air, where he spun around one more time and launched fireballs from his left arm and leg at the same time before landing right back where she had seen him start.

Time seemed to slow down as she watched him turn one more time, towards her, launching a fireball with both fists as he did so. She saw horror creep onto his face when he realized she was there, and she knew that a similar expression could be found on her face. Instinctively, she reached out for the tea on her left and it followed her command, creating a liquid barrier that protected her against the flames.

"Katara!" she heard him call out once she remembered to breathe. "Katara? Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine," she panted, wishing her heart would stop racing. "The tea protected me."

Zuko boggled for a second before he got it. "Oh, right. Tea."

They both stood there awkwardly while Katara tried to figure out how she wanted to reply. "That was some pretty good firebending," she complimented.

"Thanks," he replied, grabbing a towel and wiping off the sweat from his forehead before it froze. "I'm not sure if those are actual forms, though. My uncle hasn't taught me anything past the basics."

"So you were just playing around?"

"Not exactly," he retorted. "It was more like experimenting."

She held her hands up. "Hey, don't get me wrong. I do the same thing."

Zuko quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not like there are any other waterbenders around to teach me, so I kind of had to learn everything on my own."

"You're a waterbender?"

"Um, yeah," she answered, pointing to the spilled tea. "That stuff doesn't just come out and protect random people against fire. I was controlling it."

"You said there were no more waterbenders."

Her face suddenly felt hot despite the temperature. She scratched the back of her head. "Did I? Oh, well, I meant that there aren't any _other_ waterbenders left. I'm the last one."

"Sure you did," he replied, unconvinced.

"Okay, I lied," she confessed. "I just wasn't sure I could trust you with that. I still hated you at that point, remember?"

"But you don't now?"

She put her hands together just below her waist and looked down at them. "Your uncle talked to me about some things. He convinced me you weren't all that bad."

Zuko smiled faintly. "He does that."

She laughed. "You lied to me too, you know."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I did?"

"You never told me you were the Avatar."

He looked at her very seriously. "Would you have believed me?"

She scratched the back of her head. "Not really. It does explain why you would come all the way down here, though. You need somebody to teach you waterbending."

"Would you be willing?"

Katara blinked. Did he really just ask her that? "Uh, you remember what I told you about there being no other waterbenders here? I haven't quite gotten the hang of it myself."

"What about the North Pole? Are there waterbenders there?"

"I'm not sure," she answered. "We haven't had contact with our Sister Tribe in a long time. They've been holed up since the beginning of the war."

"Then I'm sure at least some of them have survived," he said, then paused for a few moments. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Am I what?"

He smiled. "You didn't think I was just keeping you on this ship because I enjoy your company, did you? I need you to tell me where your village is so I can take you there."

"Whoa, wait, wait, wait." She held up her hands. "You're not seriously thinking of going to the North Pole without me, are you?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"Well, think about it. You had a hard enough time convincing me that you're not a bad person. How do you expect to convince an entire tribe of waterbenders?"

He crossed his arms. "I'll think of something. Or my uncle will."

"I don't think that's going to be good enough," she argued. "You have no idea what waterbenders can do to your ship. There's one just outside my village from when the raids started. It's been trapped in the ice for sixty years. Without me there, you might—"

He cut her off with a hard glare. "I don't think you want to come along just because you're concerned about me."

"Sure, I am! I mean, you're the Avatar!" She gestured emphatically in his direction. "Why shouldn't I be concerned? I mean the rest of the Fire Nation will probably be after you once they find out not to mention I heard you and your uncle discussing how you haven't even told your crew yet and that's not even getting into how you're going to explain yourself to the rest of my tribe not to mention what's going to happen when you meet actual waterbenders and I—"

"Katara."

" _What_?"

He stared at her with his arms crossed. "You talk too much."

She crossed her own arms in response. "Okay, fine. So maybe I want to go learn waterbending from actual waterbenders. Is that a crime?"

"Not that I'm aware of," he replied, smirking. "But seriously. If you're going to leave your village behind, you should at least tell them where you're going. You don't want your family thinking I've kidnapped you, do you?"

"They probably think that already," she countered, then dropped her arms. "But you're right. And maybe I could convince Sokka to come with us."

"Who?"

"Oh, right." Her face felt hot. "I didn't tell you about Sokka. He's my brother. And he's actually a pretty nice guy, but he's kind of suspicious of outsiders. If you thought I was a challenge, wait until you meet him."

"I'm looking forward to it," he deadpanned.

Katara giggled.

"So you really don't hate me?"

She smiled. "Well, you _did_ save me from drowning. I at least owe you that much."

He wasn't smiling. "I'm the reason you almost drowned."

"Actually, that was my fault." She blushed again and scratched the back of her head where the ship had struck it. She was worried that this might become a habit.

"Huh?" He looked genuinely surprised that she was admitting that. She didn't like what that said about her.

"I tried using waterbending to make our canoe go faster," she explained. "But I didn't watch where we were going and we ended up crashing into an iceberg. Then the current dragged me out and you had to dive in to rescue me." Her face felt even hotter now and she cringed as she thought of what she had said earlier. "I didn't exactly help you with that."

"I wasn't exactly patient either," he admitted. "And if I hadn't come here this whole thing would have never happened to begin with."

"And I never would have met the Avatar," she retorted, smiling. "Look, what's done is done. We're here now, I don't hate you, and I want to help you on your journey." She sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry I was so rude to you. I've hated the Fire Nation ever since my mother died and I had no right to take that anger out on you. I've realized you're not such a horrible person and you and I actually have a lot in common." She lifted her arms and gestured between them, then lowered them again. "Do you forgive me?"

Zuko nodded. "I'm sorry for calling you a peasant."

She couldn't help laughing at that. "That's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean it."

He smirked. "You were wrong again."

"Huh?"

"You said you wouldn't forgive me for calling you that. You just did."

"Don't make me waterbend you to the floor again."

They glared at each other for a few moments before Katara started laughing. Zuko just gave her a wry smile.

The door opened behind Katara and she turned around to see Iroh come out. He had a smile on his face that disappeared as soon as he reached the table. "Who drank all the tea?" He looked at the spilled liquid on the deck, then at his nephew, and gasped. "Zuko, how could you?"

Katara raised her hand sheepishly. "Actually, that was me."

"I almost accidentally shot her with fire and she used it to protect herself," Zuko explained.

"But we're surrounded by water!" Iroh protested, gesturing around them. "Why did you have to use up all my Ginseng tea?"

This time they both started laughing.


	3. Full Circle Part 3

Sokka emerged from the tent in full warrior garb. He noted that all the other villagers had gone inside, and felt slightly uneasy about the sudden stillness, as though the Fire Nation had already come through here and wiped everybody out. He shook his head, dismissing the thought as silly. All the men were gone, save for him. The Fire Nation would never stoop so low as to raid them now. Gran-Gran even said so.

But she also admitted that she might be wrong.

The sight of a toddler rushing out of one of the tents before his mother's arms pulled him back in reassured him that everybody was still here. Steeling himself, he strode outside the village, to where Gran-Gran waited on the other side of the snow bank. As he approached her, the snow around them turned black with soot.

The ship was approaching.

He saw it coming. It was twice the size of their biggest ships, to say nothing of how it dwarfed their canoes. But it was not the largest Fire Nation ship he had seen. And it was alone.

Sokka gave a small sigh of relief. At least that meant this wasn't a raid. The Fire Nation always raided with multiple ships. But what was it here for, then? He found the uncertainty even scarier than knowing what was to come.

"Do you think Katara's okay?" he asked Gran-Gran as soon as he reached her.

"If they plan on using her as a bargaining chip, she had better be," the old woman replied. "But we can only hope for that."

Sokka didn't say anything else in response. He watched as the ship came closer. It appeared to be slowing down, but at a rate where it would have to use the ice to stop. He gulped. "Maybe we should stand farther back," he said.

"We will be fine," she assured him. "They will stop before they hit us."

"Right." He tried to stop his heart from racing but his worrying only made it beat faster. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, opening them again when he head the ship strike ice.

It sliced right through the ice at first, crushing it under its impressive weight. It quickly submitted to friction, though, and stopped a few yards ahead of them. Steam was ejected from the bow, releasing the pressure inside. A few moments later, the ramp descended.

Sokka gulped.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Zuko asked as they waited for the ramp to fall.

Katara gave him a quick smile. "As I'll ever be."

The ramp descended quickly, hitting the snow before the released steam had a chance to evaporate completely. Zuko went first, and Katara followed close behind. Iroh had stayed on the ship. They hadn't brought any guards.

Two people waited at the bottom of the ramp, an old woman and a boy that was about his age. Both seemed mildly confused, but their expressions remained completely serious. This unnerved Zuko more than he had thought it would. What was he going to say?

They reached the bottom and all was silent for several moments. Finally the old woman spoke. "What is your business here?"

Zuko bowed. "I'm here to return this girl. She nearly drowned and my uncle and I gave her medical attention. She should be fine with some additional rest."

The old woman quirked an eyebrow. "Is that all?"

He gave a small nod of his head. "It is."

"No, it's not." Katara moved forward so that she was standing beside him now. "Gran-Gran, Sokka, this is Prince Zuko. Well, former Prince. He was banished."

"A member of the royal family in our waters," Gran-Gran said evenly. "I wonder what the reason could be for that."

Katara was holding onto his shoulder now, and Zuko felt a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. He did his best to maintain an even expression, however.

"That's what I wondered too," she admitted. "But I have good news: he's the Avatar!"

Their eyes widened at the revelation. "That is impossible," Gran-Gran practically spat after a moment. "The Fire Lord's family has been hunting the Avatar for a hundred years."

"Yeah, I didn't really get it either," she said, apparently unaware of the death glare her brother was giving them. "But it does explain why he'd come all this way! He's looking for someone to teach him waterbending!"

Gran-Gran looked at him. "I am afraid there are no waterbenders left in the Southern Tribe. Your family took the last of them years ago."

He lowered his head. "I know. I'm sorry about that."

"Gran-Gran, that's a lie!" Katara shouted. "I can waterbend! I might not be very good at it, but I can!"

Zuko looked over at Sokka. His expression hadn't changed. The face paint only served to make it even more unsettling.

"Regardless, you are not experienced enough to teach anybody," the old woman replied. "Much less a firebender."

Katara shot her a glare. "I told you, he's the Avatar. And I'm not teaching him. We're going to the North Pole so we can learn waterbending together."

At that, Sokka broke his silence. "You're _what_?"

She crossed her arms. "You heard me. I'm going to a place where I can learn how to waterbend from a real master, instead of just pushing waves back and forth by myself all day. You're welcome to come."

He glared even harder. "Maybe you forgot, but Dad left us in charge of the tribe while he's gone. You can't just turn your back on your family! If you leave, who's going to do all those chores?"

"Oh, I don't know, how about the person who makes snow castles all day in between teaching toddlers how to fight and telling them they can't go to the bathroom?"

"Those are defensive preparations!"

"Defense against _what_? This is the first time a Fire Navy ship has been to our village since Dad left, and it's not even here to attack us! You're just looking for excuses to slack off!" She stepped closer to him. "Ever since Mom died, _I've_ been doing all the work! You're worried that if I go, you won't have anyone around to wash your socks anymore!"

"No, I'm worried about the fact that you want to go off on a Fire Navy ship! Even if they're not here to attack us, you still don't belong on one of those things! You need to stay here with your family!"

" _What_ family?" Katara growled, and Zuko exchanged an uneasy glance with Gran-Gran. From what he gathered in her expression, these two didn't normally fight like this. "Mom's dead, Dad's off at war, and you sit around playing soldier all day! The only one here who treats me like family is Gran-Gran! Who made you the boss of me?"

" _Dad_ did!" Sokka shouted, stomping for emphasis. "He told me I needed to protect you!"

"I can take care of myself!" she rebutted. "If anyone needs protection here it's _you_! You think you're any good with that spear? If Zuko was here to attack us you'd probably be dead right now!"

"That's _enough_!" Gran-Gran exclaimed, and they immediately stopped yelling and stepped away from each other. She looked at Zuko. "I apologize for my grandchildren's behavior. You have been nothing but polite to me so far, and I hope you will excuse that outburst."

"It's okay," he replied, giving a small bow. "I only came to return your granddaughter. If you'd like I can leave now."

She looked at Katara and Sokka, who were still glaring at each other. "I think that would be for the best."

"No!" Katara grabbed onto his arm. "Gran-Gran, do you have any idea how important this is to me? He's the Avatar! Not only that, but I finally have a chance to learn waterbending without just teaching myself! I have to go!"

"Katara," Zuko said, and she looked at him. "You should stay with your family. Believe me, you don't know how good you have it."

"But..." She looked back and forth between her family and him. "But I can't just let you go to the North Pole alone!"

"Yes you can," he replied. "You hardly even know me. You shouldn't leave your family behind just for me."

"I..." She let go of him. "Do _none of you_ understand?" She gestured emphatically toward herself. "I've done _everything_ I could ever since Mom died! I did chores, I took care of children, I even washed Sokka's dirty _clothes_! When have I ever asked for _anything_ in return? Now I want to do something for myself and you're all telling me I _can't_?"

"Katara..." Sokka reached out for her but she slapped the hand away.

"I hate _all_ of you!" she shouted, and Zuko noticed the ice beneath them trembling. "I've been completely selfless my entire life and now I can't even do the one thing _I_ want! That's just _not_ fair!"

"Katara..." Gran-Gran started, but Katara cut her off.

"And do you know what the worst part is? Telling you about this was _his_ idea! I was just going to leave you all anyway! I'm sick of it here! I'm sick of doing everything for everybody else and never getting to do anything for _myself_!"

"Katara, calm down!" Zuko shouted, not allowing her to interrupt. "Don't you remember what happened on the ship? You need to stop before you get hurt!"

Sokka shot him a glare. "What happened on your ship?"

He was about to answer when Katara lost consciousness. The snow cushioned her fall, but she was out cold. "Uh... that."

The other boy's eyes went wide. "What did you do to her?"

Zuko crossed his arms. "My uncle thinks it might have something to do with the fact that she hit her head when she lost control of her waterbending earlier," he answered calmly. "He's seen this kind of thing before, back when he was invading the Earth Kingdom."

He grit his teeth. "That's a lie."

"Actually, it's the truth."

All three of them turned to see someone else coming down the ramp.

"And who are you?" Gran-Gran asked.

"I am Zuko's uncle," he answered. "My name is Iroh."

"Kanna."

Iroh scratched his beard. "Really? That's an... interesting name."

"So is yours."

He chuckled. "Why thank you. Anyway, my nephew was not lying earlier. I used to see this sort of thing happen all the time back before I left the military. Your granddaughter now has a condition where she faints if she gets too angry. The stress is too much for her mind to handle."

"You're sure it's not brainwashing?" Sokka challenged, kneeling over her. "She was saying an awful lot of nice things about the Fire Nation."

"No she wasn't," Zuko corrected. "She was saying those things about _me_. And if we brainwashed her, do you really think we'd try and give her back to you?"

"I don't know; could all be part of your plan."

"Well it's not. Just take her inside. All she needs is a few hours sleep. Then she'll be fine."

Sokka stood up and crossed his arms. "Why should I believe you? Nobody from the Fire Nation is this nice."

"I think that's a little unfair," opined Iroh. "There are some very sweet people over there."

"Well I haven't met any," he replied, looking behind them. "And besides which, I know you're lying."

Zuko crossed his arms as well. "How do you figure that?"

He pointed behind them, and Zuko turned around to look. "There's another one of your ships coming. You didn't just want to return my sister. You wanted to draw us out into the open!"

"That's not my ship," he insisted. "And it doesn't look like it's slowing down. If you don't want to get crushed, I suggest you head back to your village. I'll deal with them."

Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but Gran-Gran interrupted him before he could speak.

"Let's go, Sokka," she commanded. He obeyed, picking up his sister's limp body and starting back towards the village.

Zuko watched as the ship approached. It was at least twice the size of his ship, and much better armed. They stood no chance in a direct fight. However, they could simply be investigating. As far as the captain of that ship knew, he and his uncle were still on their side.

The other ship made no attempt to slow down until it was almost upon them, and they took shelter behind their own vessel. The ship came to a stop a few seconds later.

The ramp opened with a hiss and a figure stepped out, flanked by several guards. Since Zuko and Iroh were not directly in line with the ramp, they had to change direction. Zuko scowled once he realized who it was.

Tall, smug and shamelessly sideburned, his oldest adversary stood before him wearing the proudest smirk Zuko had ever seen.

"Captain Zhao," he seethed as the posse approached. "What brings you here?"

"Actually, it's Commander now," Zhao corrected. "And I'm here to ask you that same question. You're a long way from home, Prince Zuko."

"What do you care?"

"Normally I wouldn't; it's just that you were spotted in Fire Nation waters three weeks ago. We're responding to reports that your vessel was last seen in this area. What was your business at the Fire Sage's temple?"

Zuko crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do. In any case, I already know why you were there. I was just giving you a chance to come forward. The Fire Sages told you about the Avatar."

"I haven't been to the Fire Nation in almost three years," he insisted. "And I don't know anything about the Avatar. I'm still searching."

"Well, at least the last part of that statement is true. Otherwise you would be on your way home by now. Tell me: how does it feel knowing that your own father doesn't even want you to kill the Avatar? Does it make you feel... worthless?"

"Worthless to you, maybe," Iroh interjected. "Zuko measures success differently from people like you and his father."

"That's because the rest of the world calls it failure," Zhao rebutted. "You think you're a father to him? He's learned nothing but how to be weak and useless. He was already plenty good at that before his real father gave up on him."

"Strength is measured in more ways than what we can see. Zuko has the inner strength required to endure anything life throws at him."

"Uncle, I don't need your assistance," Zuko growled.

"Yes, you're not doing him any favors by fighting for him. It's no wonder he's so weak."

"I'm _not_ weak!" he protested. "How would you know anyway? How much time have you spent with me?"

"Enough to know that you're a cowardly brat who couldn't even face his own father. Even if you had lost to him, it would still have been with honor. Instead you planted yourself on the ground like an earthworm snake and hoped everything would go away. Banishing you was the best thing your father ever could have done for you."

To the surprise of everybody present, Zuko did not react with umbrage to that statement, smirking instead. "Is that all you came here to tell me, Zhao? Are you so insecure that you have to bully someone else to make yourself feel better?"

Zhao gritted his teeth and steam came from his nostrils before he forced his face back into a calm expression. "As a matter of fact, no. You're going to tell me everything you know about the Avatar, and why you're looking for him here."

"I don't know anything."

"You're lying."

"Enough!" Iroh shouted, coming between them. "The Fire Sages told us that the Avatar was hidden somewhere underneath the waters out here. Avatar Roku crossed over on the Winter Solstice and told them about it. We were checking with the Southern Water Tribe to find out whether they have seen anything. That's all we were doing out here."

Zuko blinked for a few moments before realizing what his uncle was trying to do. "Uh... yeah. That's what we were doing."

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow. "Have they told you anything interesting?"

"No."

"Then you won't mind if I ask them myself." He started walking but Zuko blocked his way. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're not asking them anything."

Zhao raised an eyebrow again. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yes. Agni Kai, at sunset. Away from the village where no one will get hurt."

He smirked. "Very well, I accept. I'll see you both at sundown." He turned back towards his ship.

After they had left, Iroh said: "Zuko, is that really such a wise decision? You remember what happened when you dueled your father."

"It's not the same," Zuko replied, not looking at him. "I'm _more_ than willing to face Zhao. In fact, I think I might even enjoy it." He turned around. "And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

* * *

For the fourth time that day, Katara woke up to find herself in a bed. This time, at least, the bed was familiar, as well as the surroundings. If not for a throbbing headache, she might not have gotten up.

Standing up slowly, she wobbled a bit but ultimately kept her footing. The ensuing head rush obscured her vision, and for a few seconds all she could do was bend over with her hands against her knees. Once she could see, she located her jacket and put it on, then stepped outside the tent.

The village was empty.

Katara heard noise off in the distance, beyond the village walls. She started walking towards it. When she arrived at the edge of the village, she saw what it was.

There were two ships now, each having unloaded some of their crew. The individual crews had gathered at the edges of what appeared to be a hastily carved rectangular court, created by melting ice with fire. She couldn't trust her vision at this distance, but somewhere in all the red Katara swore she could see several people wearing blue. She decided to walk closer.

A couple minutes later, she had determined that, yes, the entire village had gathered to watch whatever was going on in the middle of the court. Sokka stood there clutching a spear, his boomerang and club both kept in their individual holsters so that he could draw them at any moment. Gran-Gran stood next to him, accompanied by Iroh. Some of the more curious women had also come out to watch the spectacle, but the children had been left in the village with the women who weren't so keen on watching. Katara inferred this by noticing the absence of several of them.

It wasn't until she actually got to the crowd that she saw what all the fuss was about. Zuko was kneeling towards them, while another man whom she did not recognize did the same thing on the other end, turning their backs to each other. Both had stripped off their heavy armor, dressed only in pants and a ceremonial vest, with black bands wrapped around each arm just below the shoulder. They seemed to be waiting for something.

"What's going on?" she asked as she reached Sokka, Gran-Gran and Iroh. None of them looked surprised to see her there. Had she been expected?

"Zuko has challenged Commander Zhao to an Agni Kai," answered Iroh.

"An Agni Kai?" Katara repeated, just to make sure. "Wait, isn't that how he got...?"

He nodded. "That was different, however. An Agni Kai comes in two varieties. One is to deal with a grievance by way of a duel, and the other is to decide a battle by champion. I believe Zuko intends the latter with this."

"You mean he's trying to fight him without getting anybody else involved?"

"Essentially, yes. Although he does harbor a grudge against Zhao, so I suspect it may be a bit of the first as well."

"Why is that?"

"Mostly because Zhao made several insulting claims that have no basis in reality. However, I have witnessed Zuko's temper before, and I noticed that this time he was far more relaxed. He did not even challenge Zhao until he tried to enter your village."

"So he's trying to protect us?" She looked at Sokka when she said that, but he said nothing in response.

"It appears that way."

A gong sounded suddenly and the two fighters stood, shedding the vests on the ground like old skin. Katara imagined how cold Zuko must be feeling right now, but he didn't show it. ' _Must be nice being a firebender_...'

Zuko threw the first punch. The fireball traveled all the way across the battlefield, but Zhao had long since moved out of the way, countering with a flame of his own. Zuko had to sidestep as well, and the flame dissipated before it reached the rest of them. As he dodged, Zuko spun around and lifted one leg, firing off another blast in the other man's direction.

This time Zhao did not bother to dodge, but simply brought up his arms, splitting the fireball into two pieces that quickly disappeared. Zuko had used the opportunity to advance, and now spun around while still running, skidding to a stop while shifting nearly all of his weight forward and shooting fire with both hands.

The amount of fire generated was apparently too much for Zhao to deflect, and he stumbled a bit as he dodged. Zuko got even closer and jumped at him with a flying kick, fire leading the way. Zhao smirked and dashed to the side, allowing him to pass by harmlessly. When he landed, Zuko transitioned into a reverse roundhouse kick, sweeping the immediate area with fire as he did so. His opponent ducked under it easily.

As soon as he was upright, Zhao shot his right arm forward with impressive speed, and it was Zuko's turn to duck under the fireball. He went with the obvious strategy of trying to sweep his opponent's legs, but Zhao was ready for him. He leaped over the fire trailing from Zuko's foot, then brought his fist down like a hammer at the same time the teenager was rising. He didn't even bother to add any fire.

Zuko crossed his arms and blocked the strike, but was brought to his knees as a result. Zhao took a quick step back and then transitioned into a spinning back kick, almost ensuring that fire would hit the teenager's head followed immediately by his foot.

Instead responding with a mad scramble to get out of the way, Zuko dipped himself lower, shifting the position of his feet so that he would be ready to rocket to a standing position. Grabbing Zhao's calf as it passed over him, he stood up rapidly enough to knock the older man on his back. He shifted his stance so that one arm was held straight in front of him, the other level with his head with both fists pointed at Zhao.

"Yield."

Zhao rolled his eyes. "Not even brave enough to strike the final blow, are you? You haven't beaten me."

"Yes I have. Now yield."

Defiantly, Zhao stood up. "There is no yielding in an Agni Kai. I thought you'd have learned that from the last one you were in." He smirked wickedly.

Zuko growled and threw a punch at the other man's head. The fire barely missed its mark as Zhao ducked to the side, then swung at him with a non-enhanced right hook. Zuko brought the side of his elbow in front of his midsection just in time to deflect the blow, then aimed a strong sucker-punch at his opponent's ribs. Zhao dispelled the fire effortlessly and caught the fist in his palm, twisting it hard. Rather than cry out in pain, Zuko simply grimaced and opened his hand to free himself, then leapt back while spinning and trailing fire from his legs.

Now that there was more distance between them, they resorted to shooting off blasts of flame at each other again. Zhao aimed one straight at the teenager's chest, and Zuko transitioned into a reverse roundhouse after ducking, forming a wave of fire that traveled quickly but was nevertheless dispelled like its brethren. He stood up to find another fireball heading straight at him, which he quickly bent around his body to avoid.

Their roles had effectively reversed, Katara noted. Zhao was gaining back some of the momentum he'd been denied at the start of the fight, pushing Zuko closer to the side he'd started on. Zuko had been put on the defensive, and had no time to counter under the constant onslaught of fire. Despite having made a strong opening, Zuko was starting to have trouble simply because he lacked the older man's experience and training. He needed something to level the field.

She tapped Iroh's shoulder. "Um, what's the policy on weapons in these things?"

"Well, there are no rules against it, but it's more true to the spirit of the Agni Kai to—"

"Great," she interrupted, yanking Sokka's spear out of his hands before he even realized what was happening. "Zuko, catch!"

The shout was enough to stop Zhao from launching fire, allowing Zuko to turn around and grab the spear that was thrown to him. A smile appeared on his face and he began twirling it tauntingly.

"No respect for tradition," Zhao muttered before holding out his hand behind him. One of the soldiers tossed him a halberd, which he caught easily.

Zuko spun around twice and launched several fire blasts from the spear, trusting the fact that it was made of bone in order to channel the flame safely. The halberd Zhao held was too long to spin, so he simply got out of the way of most of the blasts while blocking others. He set himself in a rigid stance and began to charge with the weapon, growling with rage.

Dashing to the side to avoid being impaled, Zuko took a swing at Zhao's back as he passed by, striking him hard. Zhao cried out and tumbled forward. The tip off the halberd broke off as it hit the ice, and shortened to about the length of a long staff.

Zuko charged forward, planting the tip of the spear in the ice and using it as a springboard to launch himself at Zhao. The other man ducked under the attack, and as he pulled it out of the ground Zuko swung the spear in a wide arc, sweeping it along the ground as he landed, trailing fire all the way. Zhao managed to jump over it, turning around in midair and bringing the staff over his head, then swinging down hard once he managed to turn completely around.

Having anticipated that, Zuko grabbed both ends of the spear and lifted it above his head in a horizontal blocking maneuver. The force of Zhao's swing was enough to break it in half, but instead of hitting him it continued to the ground below. He twirled the stick in his left hand, the one with the spear head still attached, so that it was facing upward, then batted Zhao's next attack to the side with the one in his right before stabbing at his ribs.

Zhao managed to catch the weapon before it punctured his torso, but in doing so sacrificed his grip on the staff, which fell to the ground. He bent the fragment so that it broke, effectively leaving him with a knife and Zuko with a pair of sticks.

Katara was even more nervous than she had been before. "Okay, maybe weapons weren't such a good idea."

Zuko twisted his body to the right to avoid being stabbed, hooking his arm around Zhao's as it went past him and locking it in place as he used the other spear fragment to strike at his face. It connected, driving the other man back. Zhao grimaced and hissed in pain as he stumbled backward, but somehow managed to keep his grip on the knife, which he used to slash at the teenager while lunging forward. Zuko ducked under the swipe, hitting his opponent in the stomach with what was effectively the hilt of his weapon. Zhao dropped the knife and doubled over, and Zuko moved to the right while still crouched, curving his left arm around in a long arc as he stood up. The spear fragment smacked hard against Zhao's upper back, sending him to the ground.

Rolling over, Zhao looked up to see that his opponent was standing over him in the same pose as before. He somersaulted backwards, standing up a few feet away with a scowl on his face.

"Inexperienced brat," he growled. "You aren't even using firebending anymore. You're coming at me with barroom brawling tactics because you haven't learned anything past the basics."

Katara disagreed with that sentiment after what she had seen on the ship. Of course, Zuko had freely admitted that he'd been experimenting because he hadn't progressed that much. Zhao on the other hand was clearly approaching the level of master, and the only reason Zuko seemed to be winning was because the man's superiority complex would not allow him to expend the effort that he might use on what he considered a worthwhile threat. Also, regardless of how Zuko's father felt of him, killing the Fire Lord's son couldn't have been good for one's career. He might actually be holding back.

' _Wait a minute_...'

"Zuko!" she called, and he looked at her. "The _tea_ , Zuko! Remember what you did with the tea!"

Everybody turned to stare at her.

"Uh..." She blushed, then slumped her shoulders. "I'll just shut up now."

Zuko, on the other hand, had a smirk on his face. He tossed the two spear fragments into the snow on either side of him so that they stuck in the ice. Then, just as she had seen him do on the ship, he fired a shot from his left fist, followed by his right. He spun around after the second punch, keeping his elbow high and building momentum for a third. Zhao dashed to the right to avoid the flame.

Next he fired off a trio of fireballs from his right leg, then spun around and delivered another from his left. He finished with a high kick that created a wall of flame, only it had a different effect than it had on the ship. The snow between the two men melted quickly and then froze just as instantly, creating a solid sheet of ice. Zuko dashed forward, falling on purpose to avoid a fireball to the face. He slid along the ice strip, fire leading the way ahead of his feet. Zhao leaped over him at the last minute, performing a flip and landing on the other side of the ice.

By the time Zhao turned around, Zuko had already stretched his arms outward and was creating a whirlwind of flame. At the end of the third rotation, he threw one fist in the air, followed by his body, spinning around to deliver simultaneous fireballs from his left arm and foot. The fire he had already created surged forward as well.

The amount of fire generated by all this was almost enough to overwhelm Zhao, who jumped to the side in a rather sloppy dodge attempt. Zuko landed right where he had been standing, then pivoted while leaning forward and firing twin streams of fire from his hands. Unlike he had on the ship, he did not hold back. Zhao threw up his arms and managed to deflect most of the flames, but was horribly off balance and fell to the ground, where Zuko was quick to straddle him and hold a fist over his head.

"This only proves my point, you know," said Zhao. "Those weren't even real moves."

"You still got defeated by them, didn't you?" Zuko countered. "Maybe you should make sure you can beat someone in a fight before you start calling them worthless. The way I hear it, the only reason you're so high up in the military is because you're a world class kiss-up to my father. I doubt you'd be able to make Commander any other way when you can't even stop a sixteen year old boy from knocking you to the ground three times in five minutes."

Zhao grit his teeth and growled something unintelligible, but Zuko didn't waver. "I'll tell you what: you leave this place and never bother me or the Southern Water Tribe again, and I'll let you live. If that doesn't sound good to you, I'll kill you right here and now. And it won't be quick."

"Go ahead and do it," he snarled. "At least then you won't be a coward."

He shook his head. "I've learned recently that it actually takes more courage not to kill somebody, even if they deserve it. I'm offering you mercy. But I guess your ego's too big to handle that. You don't want to see me prove I'm brave; you just don't want to live with the knowledge that you lost."

Zhao didn't respond to that with words. An animal growl was all that escaped his throat. Zuko stood up and turned around. "We're done here."

"No we're not!" he shouted, standing up. "Get back here and end this like a man!"

"He already has," said Iroh, who had managed to come between them without anybody noticing. "You lost, Zhao. You were knocked to the ground three separate times. According to the rules, that means the Agni Kai can no longer continue. Zuko is the winner, regardless of whether or not he decides to kill you."

"You're letting him win by a technicality?" he raged. "That's even more cowardly than I thought!"

Iroh stood there calmly. "I would advise against arguing this any further, Zhao."

"Or what?"

"Or else you will have to face _me_."

For some reason that Katara couldn't figure out, Zhao seemed genuinely frightened by that prospect. Iroh was just a kindly old man, right? True, he had taught Zuko firebending, but she just assumed that there was a reason he hadn't given any instruction past the basics. Apparently it wasn't the reason she thought.

"Alright," he said begrudgingly, "you win, Prince Zuko. But you're still a coward. Both of you are." He started walking away.

"Commander, are you alright?" Lieutenant Pang had brought him a robe, and he draped it over himself as he walked back to his ship.

"Do I _look_ alright?" he snapped, and the other man shrunk back.

"Er... anyway, Sir, I was wondering what your plan is for dealing with them. If they know about the Avatar, we can't just leave them to their own devices."

Zhao turned and started heading up the ramp. "I'm aware of that, Lieutenant. But it's far too dangerous to confront them directly. I'm not about to face the Dragon of the West."

"You are referring to General Iroh, yes?"

"Who else? His exploits are legendary. And even though he turned soft after his son died in the siege on Ba Sing Se, he has enough experience to destroy any of us." The ramp started closing behind them. "No. Wait until we're out to sea... and then leave them a parting gift."

Lieutenant Pang bowed. "Yes, Sir."

* * *

"Zuko, that was _amazing_!" Katara cheered as she nearly tackled him with a hug. "I had no idea you could fight that well!"

"Neither did I," he admitted. "Though it's probably just because Zhao's not as good as he thinks he is." He smirked.

She slapped his bare shoulder. "Oh, stop. You were incredible. I've never seen anybody fight like that."

"That's because you don't get out that much. Believe me, Katara. As far as firebending goes, that was pathetic. I've seen master firebenders in action and that was nothing compared to what they can do."

"Well, you still managed to drive him off," Katara insisted. "And now he won't bother us again."

Zuko looked away. "I guess."

"Okay, Mr. Fire Nation Prince, I'll admit I'm impressed," Sokka said as he joined them. "But you still don't belong here. I think you should go."

"What? No!" Katara got between them and stretched out her arms.

"Katara, he's right," said Zuko. "I'm the reason Commander Zhao came here in the first place. I put you all in danger needlessly."

She turned around. "We weren't in danger! You fought him one on one and then he left. How is that dangerous?"

There was a sudden whooshing sound, and everyone turned their view to the sky just in time to see a giant flaming rock headed directly towards them.

"Because Zhao never keeps up his end of a bargain," Zuko answered, narrowing his eyes.

"That thing's gonna land right on top of us!" Sokka cried out, pointing at the fireball as it got closer.

Katara was still watching Zuko's face when it happened. His pupils disappeared suddenly, hidden behind a glowing white that was purer than the snow surrounding them. When he spoke, it was with the voices of many. "No," the voices declared. "It won't."

His body suddenly rocketed into the air, propelled by jets of flame that surged from his feet and hands. Moving forward over the shoreline, Zuko brought up his arms, and two geysers of water twisted and winded into the air, where they intercepted the flaming boulder and snuffed out the blaze. The projectile, however, was still heading toward them. Zuko drew back his fist as it approached, then hit it hard enough to shatter it into a million pieces. He continued bending it after the strike until it became fine powder.

Once the boulder was dealt with, Zuko started to descend, landing right where the snow met water. Katara, Sokka, Iroh and Gran-Gran all rushed over to him.

"Zuko, that was incredible!" shouted Katara. "How did you do that?"

"Yeah, how _did_ you do that?" Sokka asked suspiciously. "And why didn't you just do it earlier when you when you were fighting crazy sideburns guy?"

"Zuko, are you alright?" asked Iroh. "You seem tired."

"I apologize for not believing you earlier," Gran-Gran said. "You just used three different kinds of bending at once. And you defended our village from that man. That is enough to convince me that you are who you claim to be."

Zuko bowed. "Thanks. But I think I've done enough harm." He stepped past them and looked at his crew, who were all staring at him. "I don't think it should surprise any of you now when I tell you that I'm the Avatar," he said calmly. "I didn't know myself until I visited the Fire Sage's temple and talked to Avatar Roku. The reason we came down here was so that I could find a master to teach me waterbending. I apologize for keeping this from all of you, but you have to understand that I was afraid of you turning on me. If any of you would like to try and kill me, go ahead and do it now."

Lieutenant Jee raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"If we were going to turn on you we would have done it as soon as you announced your intent to bring us down here," he explained. "You've been our leader for close to three years. You being the Avatar does nothing to change that. And besides, hunting the Avatar was _your_ duty. You can't very well do that if you _are_ the Avatar, can you?"

"You mean you're not going to...?"

"No. Your uncle told me how you got that scar of yours, and I don't believe I can willingly follow a Fire Lord who's willing to do something like that to his own son. Neither do the rest of us. You and your uncle are the true leaders, as far as we're concerned. We'll support you any way we can."

Zuko just stood there and blinked for a few moments. "Uh... thank you." He bowed. "I don't deserve such kindness."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Jee. "You just did more good for the world than Fire Lord Sozin ever promised. You protected an innocent village against that violent egomaniac, and you did it without getting anybody hurt. I'd rather follow you than some vague promises of a Fire Lord I've never even met."

"Thank you." Zuko bowed again. He turned to Gran-Gran. "I suppose we'd better be going."

"Yes, you should," she agreed. "Take Katara and Sokka with you."

" _What_?" the three of them exclaimed, each for a different reason.

"You are the first glimmer of hope that we've had in a hundred years," the old woman explained. "Katara and Sokka need to get out of this place and see the world. Katara needs to fulfill her destiny as a waterbender, and Sokka deserves to come along for the journey."

"But Gran-Gran," Sokka protested, "I'm supposed to be in charge of the tribe while Dad's gone. Who's gonna watch it now?"

"I am more than capable of running the tribe in the absence of men. As I recall, that is what I have ended up doing anyway for the last two years." Sokka's head fell, and she put a hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly. "Sokka, you have the potential to be a great leader someday. Zuko here can provide a great example of what it takes to inspire people into following you. His crew just declared allegiance to him over his father. You can be the same someday."

He looked away. "I guess. But I still don't want to go on a Fire Navy ship." He looked at Katara. "And I don't get why you do. You remember what happened to Mom."

"Sokka," she replied, smiling. "Zuko and his uncle aren't responsible for that. Neither are any of their crew. They're living proof that even the Fire Nation has some decent people living in it. They're not all evil, child-murdering monsters. They're people."

"Okay, fine," he agreed finally, then crossed his arms and looked at Zuko. "But if you turn out to be lying, you're a dead man."

Zuko nodded. "I understand."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gran-Gran urged. "Get going!"

* * *

Zhao lowered his telescope. He had an unreadable expression on his face, as though he was simultaneously overjoyed and worried. Lieutenant Pang approached him cautiously.

"Would you like us to fire again, Sir?"

"No," he answered, still staring at the same spot. "Send word to the Fire Lord. Tell him our search for the Avatar is over."


	4. Crawling in the Dark Part 1

Sunlight broke over the bow and spread across the entire ship. Zuko could feel his strength rising as the golden light poured into his body, his every breath stroking the fire that burned within. There was power inside of him. It wanted to be released.

Zuko turned quickly and sent a tribute to the sun, raising his right leg high above his head. Fire trailed from his heel as he brought it down, and the resulting wave traveled almost to the bow before it disappeared.

Taking a step forward, he propelled himself into the air with his left leg, then lifted his right up in a crescent, bringing it toward his center. He landed and took another step forward, throwing his right leg up above his head in a high kick, trailing fire from his toes. Landing again, he bent his knees and threw his arms out in an arcing circle. As he turned, Zuko lifted his left knee as high as he could, allowing his right leg to follow shortly thereafter. The fire hissed as it overpowered the moist ocean breeze before joining it in oblivion.

Turning, Zuko mimed blocking an opponent with a high circular sweep next to his head, then shifted his weight forward and struck the deck with the ball of his foot as he threw a flaming straight punch. He then took three steps forward and jumped off his left foot, bringing his right up in a jumping toe kick. As he landed, Zuko bent his body forward and threw his arms out, then spun around and threw his right leg in the air, followed by his left to perform a butterfly kick.

Engaging another imaginary opponent, Zuko grabbed at the air. He brought his right arm around in an arc, shattering the nonexistent arm. Building momentum, Zuko shot a blast of flame from his right sole with a side kick before transitioning into a cartwheel. He rolled forward again after the cartwheel, dropping to the floor and lashing out with a fiery kick. Bringing his leg back toward himself, Zuko shifted his weight so that it was on the other side of his body, then shot his other leg out to complete the scissor kick. He spun his outstretched leg in a half-circle, then his right, using the momentum to propel himself to his feet, fire trailing from his heels.

Zuko dropped into a horse stance, bringing his left arm around in a palm block, then looked to the side and launched a fireball from his right arm. Trailing his left arm around in a circle, Zuko brought his right arm back and shifted his stance before lashing out with an uppercut. Dropping his left hand, he brought up his leg in a diagonal arc. Before his foot hit the ground, he hopped with his other leg, then brought his left leg around for an inside crescent kick just as he landed with his right. He finished by circling his right arm in front of him, then raising his left above it before looking to the side and placing his right arm above his head, bent at the elbow, while doing the opposite with his left.

The sound of clapping erupted from the other end of the deck, and he turned to see Katara with an excited look on her face. "Zuko, that was incredible!"

"You think _everything_ he does is incredible," Sokka remarked, which earned him a punch in the arm. It was at least more supportive than he had acted when he first came on board. He'd been highly indignant at first, but Zuko sensed that the Water Tribesman was slowly acclimating to the situation, if for no other reason than the sword lessons he'd been giving him.

Zuko turned to the third observer. "What did you think, Uncle?"

"It was very good," answered Iroh. "Your technique is improving, and your transitions are getting a lot smoother. But you are still focusing too much on the physical actions, not the spiritual component behind them. Power in firebending comes from the _breath_ , not the muscles."

"So you've told me many times," he replied, annoyed.

"And I will continue telling you until it gets through," the old man rebutted. "Fire is the most passionate of all the elements. In order to master it, your spirit and your body must work together in harmony. Good breath control is the key to that. You _must_ master proper breathing if you ever hope to progress beyond firebending."

"He's got a point there," Katara chimed in. "Even waterbending is harder unless you're breathing right. I can't imagine how hard airbending's going to be if you don't master it now."

"Except I can't master airbending if there's nobody around to teach me," Zuko pointed out. "What about waterbending? I could just skip right ahead to that."

Iroh shook his head. "No, you cannot."

"Why not? I've already gotten really good at firebending, and I only have a few months to master all four elements before Sozin's comet arrives!"

"But you still have not _mastered_ firebending," he replied. "And even if you did, you do not have the proper outlook to be able to move straight to the opposite element in your cycle. Firebending is aggressive, rigid, always moving and attacking." He demonstrated with several forms, then gestured to Katara. "Waterbending is passive, fluid, waiting to react when your opponent makes the first move." They all stared at her for a moment until she blushed and began demonstrating some forms of her own.

When she was finished, Iroh looked back to Zuko. "Airbending rests between the two. It is a transition point that will help you to better understand how the elements work together. The Avatar Cycle is designed so that the first element you learn other than your native one will help to ease you into the others. You cannot simply skip ahead."

Zuko scowled and looked away.

"Besides," added Katara, "I haven't exactly gotten the hang of waterbending myself. That's the whole reason I went on this journey with you, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," he replied. "But none of you understands the position I'm in. I don't have a lot of time to learn all the elements, and I'm not even sure if I can. I need to learn as much as possible before the Comet arrives."

Sokka raised a hand. "Uh, pardon me for asking, but what's so important about this Comet?"

"It's Sozin's Comet," Katara explained. "The person it's named after used its power to wipe out the Air Nomads. That's why no one's seen them in a hundred years."

"Okay, yeah, I knew that," he snapped. "But why's everybody making such a big deal out of it? Why is it so important that you learn everything before it arrives?"

"Because Fire Lord Ozai will not be content to sit around and do nothing with its power," Iroh replied gravely. "It increases the strength of firebenders by a hundredfold. He will no doubt use it to gain some advantage in the war."

"Like what?"

"We have no way of knowing," Katara answered, then looked at Zuko, who had crossed his arms. "But it's important that you learn everything you can so that we can stop it from happening."

"I'm aware of that," he shot back, turning to Iroh. "That's what confuses me about this. You tell me I need to learn all the elements, but then you say I'm not ready to learn waterbending. How do you expect me to learn anything if you won't let me try?"

"You need to practice one step at a time," his uncle insisted. "Basics, Zuko. Even the most magnificent of palaces started with laying the foundations. If you were to skip straight ahead to building the walls, they would collapse under their own weight. You _must_ do things in the proper order."

He glared. "I'm getting really tired of your metaphors. Speak straight with me."

"It's basically what I just told you," the old man explained. "You cannot learn waterbending because you are not ready. You must understand the basics of any form of bending before you can master it. Firebending and airbending are similar enough that you can transition between the two easily. You need to be patient. These things take time."

"Time is exactly what we don't have," Zuko reminded him. "We've wasted enough as it is." He pushed forward, and the three of them parted to let him through. "I'll be in my quarters."

* * *

  
**Episode 2**  
Crawling in the Dark

* * *

Zuko meditated in front of a row of candles, making them rise and fall with each breath. Even though he disagreed with his uncle on certain things, he still respected him enough to follow his orders when it came to training. He'd told him to practice breathing, and this was the most efficient exercise he knew. The flames tried to reach higher with each inhale, only to return to where they had started when he had to release the air. The symbolism was not lost on him, but Zuko tried not to pay too much attention to it.

It was not the first time that conversation had taken place. He had tried, many times, to convince Katara to share with him what she knew. Every time the reply was the same: she didn't know anything that was worth teaching him, and wasn't even sure if what she knew was correct. She also mentioned that it took her years of trying different things just to get to where she was, and he knew from experience that trial and error methodology was not the quickest of teaching methods. His uncle's words made it clearer than ever that he would not be learning waterbending anytime soon.

That left him with airbending. Zuko could not help feeling as though he was missing something. Fate would not be so cruel as to make him the Avatar and then throw up a wall in front of him that he could not hope to pass through. There had to be some detail he had overlooked, some secret of his past that he had yet to discover. Otherwise he may as well have spent the rest of his life unknowingly hunting himself.

Zuko looked down. There was no way he was going to learn all the elements in time for the Comet. He might as well not even try.

The thought that entered his mind then was dark, but he embraced it all the same. There was no way he could face his father. He had suffered enough the first time he tried, and was in no mood to push his luck further. His father might just kill him this time, now that he had an excuse.

Still, that didn't mean he was just going to give up on learning the elements. Maybe he could survive if he just stayed on the run and practiced in peace.

But how could he practice if he didn't know the first thing about airbending?

He growled in frustration, and the candles rose almost to the ceiling. "Dammit, isn't there anybody who can help me?"

"You could try me," a voice replied, and Zuko looked around to find its source. He found it directly in front of him, on the other side of the fire.

The girl appeared to be about his age, dressed in a green silk kimono with gold trim. Her hair was worn down, with no pins or beads trying to pin it in any sort of pattern, which stood out in sharp contrast to the expensive robe. Her face was almond-shaped, framed on either side by long black bangs. Her eyes were as green as her robe, and she wore a smirk on her lips. He felt that he knew her somehow, but could not quite place it.

"Who are you?" he asked, ready to leap to his feet if need be. "How did you get in here?"

She continued to smirk. "You have to _ask_? You needed someone to talk to, so I answered. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out."

He relaxed a bit, figuring that she wasn't here to harm him. "Maru."

She bowed slightly to acknowledge that he was correct.

"You look... different than I expected."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I was hoping our first meeting would be a little more dramatic. But I guess Roku set that bar pretty high. Just because he was the last fully-realized Avatar, he always figures he has to show off."

A laugh escaped Zuko before he could catch himself. He quickly cleared his throat. "Roku told me he wasn't my only guide. I guess this is what he meant."

"Let me guess: he told you to look deep inside yourself?" she asked with a smirk.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Maru rolled her eyes. "No _wonder_ it took you this long. He let me know you might be calling on me all the way back during the Winter Solstice. That was a month and a half ago."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he replied with a smirk. "I'm not very good at figuring out what old people mean."

"I know, right? It's always the same cryptic bullcrap with them. Things would be so much easier if they'd just say what they mean."

"Exactly!"

They both laughed.

"So anyway, you needed my help?"

"Yeah," he answered, his features growing serious again. "What can you tell me about airbending?"

"Not much," she replied. "I never made it past fire. The only person willing to teach me _that_ was your uncle."

Zuko blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Didn't your uncle tell you?"

He nodded. "He told me that he found you and captured you. Then he set you free a while later when his father wanted to kill you."

"Well, he didn't capture me right away. He'd gone out ahead of his father's men, and when he finally caught up to me I thought he was going to kill me. But instead he invited me in for tea and taught me a few firebending forms. It was pretty fun." Her smile faded. "Of course, his father's men caught up to us a few days later and he was forced to capture me. I didn't blame him for it."

He sat there for a few moments processing this new information. "Excuse me a minute."

* * *

"You invited her in for _tea_?"

Iroh jerked up quickly from his bed, looking confused. After a few seconds, he sighed. "You are going to have to be more specific."

"You told me you captured the Avatar when she was sixteen," Zuko clarified, marching further into his uncle's quarters. "You never told me you had tea with her first!"

The old man rubbed his eyes. "Who told you this?"

"She did."

He raised an eyebrow. "Maru?"

"Yes," a voice answered, and they both turned to see Maru standing in the middle of the room, as if she had been there from the beginning.

Iroh looked a little surprised, but there was no fear in his expression. "It is good to see you again," he greeted.

She bowed. "You as well. How have the years been treating you?"

"Not as well as you, it seems."

Maru laughed. "I will admit, the Spirit World is a lot less stressful than this one."

"If you're all caught up now," Zuko interrupted, "maybe you can tell me why you taught her firebending."

Iroh blinked. "You sound upset about it."

"I'm not upset," he insisted, backpedaling hastily. "I just don't understand why you'd hide that from me."

"I wasn't hiding it from you," the old man replied as he pulled back the covers and stood up from the bed. "It just wasn't that important."

"And it didn't help much anyway," Maru added. "Not that I don't appreciate it."

"Whatever," Zuko muttered. "Let's get back to airbending. Do you know anybody who might be able to teach me? One of the other Avatars, maybe?"

She shook her head. "Spirits can't bend, so I doubt they'd be much help. And nobody's been able to get a hold of the last airbender for a hundred years."

"Why not?"

Maru shrugged. "No one knows. It's possible his spirit just hasn't moved on."

"What does that mean?"

"Usually, an Avatar undergoes spiritual training as part of his or her journey," Iroh answered. "But the last hundred years have changed things. He may not realize how to do the things that allow your past lives to get in contact with you."

"He's right," Maru agreed. "I was lucky enough to get instructions from Roku. Of course, I can still only talk to you onboard this ship unless you concentrate really hard."

"And why is that?"

"This ship was your father's," Iroh revealed. "It is the vessel he took when he hunted down the Avatar. As a result, her spirit is bound to it."

"Which explains how I can talk to you even though we're not in the Spirit World," Zuko realized.

Maru smirked. "You catch on fast. And here I thought I was gonna have to explain that to you." Zuko glared at her, and she laughed. "I'm just teasing."

"It's not funny." They both stared at him for a few seconds. "What?"

"You need to learn to have a sense of humor," Iroh told him. "Lighten up. It will better prepare you for learning airbending."

Zuko just scowled. "Speaking of which, we still need to figure out where I'm going to learn it at. If there's nobody left alive to teach me, then maybe I could find some scrolls they left behind."

"You could try the Southern Air Temple," suggested Maru. "I was trying to reach it when your father caught up to me. If you want to find some genuine airbending scrolls, an Air Temple would be your place."

"Assuming they haven't all been burned," he muttered. "Fine. We'll set a course for the Southern Air Temple."

Iroh and Maru watched him as he left the room.

* * *

He found Sokka and Katara on the deck, practicing forms. Sokka was swinging his club around wildly, and Zuko made a mental note to correct his form as soon as he was finished telling them of the new plan. Katara was standing over a puddle, trying to get the water to follow her movements. She wasn't very successful.

Zuko sighed. Was this what he had to work with? Even if he did somehow learn all the elements, would _they_ be ready? It didn't matter, he decided. They wouldn't need to be.

"We're going to the Southern Air Temple," he announced as soon as he was in speaking distance. "We should arrive there in a few days."

"That's great," Katara replied, not really listening. She raised her arms high above her head, trying to persuade the water into following. It stayed put, and she threw her arms down in disgust. As if to mock her, the water responded by traveling quickly over to Sokka and freezing his feet to the deck.

" _Katara_!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and strode over to him, then lit a fire that melted the ice within seconds. "There. Can I have your attention now?"

"Sure, what's up?" Katara asked.

"I said we're going to the Southern Air Temple," he repeated. "Since there's nobody alive who can teach me airbending, I'm going to try looking for any scrolls they left behind."

"Didn't the Fire Nation burn everything in the Air Temples?" Sokka inquired, still waving his club around.

"I'm not sure. It couldn't hurt to look."

"How are we going to get up there?" Katara asked. "From what I've heard it's in the heart of the Batola Mountain Range."

"I know. But it's our only lead."

"That's something I've been wondering too. How'd your great-grandfather get up there anyway?" He turned away from them and continued swinging.

Zuko looked away. "Dragons," he answered quietly. "He used dragons."

Katara moved in front of him, crouching down slightly and looking up to meet his gaze. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he insisted, hiding his expression behind a look of determination.

"If you say so." She started to stand back up, only for Sokka to turn around and accidentally strike her on the rump. She straightened immediately, clutching the sore spot. " _Sokka_!"

"Sorry, Katara!" he shouted, looking scared. She growled at him, then summoned the water in the puddle and launched her brother across the deck.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You need to train your reflexes better, Sokka. And you need to keep track of where other people are while you're practicing."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, spitting out water as he stood up. "How are we getting up to the Southern Air Temple if there aren't any dragons left?"

"I don't know. We could always try climbing."

"That could take us a month, which we can't exactly spare," said Katara. "You have to face your father before the Comet arrives, remember?"

He looked away. "I've been thinking about that. Maybe I don't have to face him."

Sokka's club clattered on the deck. "Wait, what?"

"Think about it. I haven't mastered firebending yet, and I don't even know if I can learn air. Not to mention last time I faced him, he gave me _this_." He pointed to his scar. "If nothing else, the Southern Air Temple could be a pretty good place to hide for a little while."

"You can't be serious," Sokka replied. "Your family's been destroying the world ever since the war started. Are you just gonna let that continue to happen?"

"You have to bring balance to the world," Katara added. "That means stopping the Fire Nation before they can wipe out another civilization."

"I know, I know!" Zuko shouted, pressing his hands against his temples. "But what can I actually do? Getting myself killed won't help _anybody_!"

"Neither will doing nothing!"

"I'm _not_ doing nothing!" he protested. "I'm trying to learn all the elements, and I can't do that by the time the Comet arrives. I haven't even mastered firebending and I've been doing it my whole _life_! How am I supposed to master three more types of bending in just eight months?"

"So you're just going to hide from your father and let him take over the whole world?" Sokka challenged. "Is _that_ your plan?"

"No! Maybe! I don't know!" He turned away.

"Last time the Comet came, Fire Lord Sozin massacred all the Air Nomads," Katara reminded him. "We don't know what your father's planning to do when it arrives this time. He might decide to destroy the Earth Kingdom, or the Water Tribe. You can't just sit back and do nothing."

Zuko turned to face them again. "Look," he growled. "I know it's difficult to think about this rationally when you're on the losing side of a war. But there's just no way I can stop this on my own. The Air Nomads were foolish enough to try and challenge Sozin, so he made an example out of them. That's how war works."

" _We're_ having trouble thinking about this rationally?" Sokka rebutted. "Sozin slaughtered an entire people! Men, women, children, animals, _everybody_! And you're telling us it was _justified_?"

"No," he answered. "I'm just saying that war isn't always so simple. He had to have some reason for wiping all of them out like that. People don't just commit genocide because they feel like it."

"You're just making excuses," Sokka accused. "What Fire Lord Sozin did was wrong, and there's no way around it. Maybe you can see for yourself when we get there."

"Sokka's right. You don't have to try and rationalize this. Sometimes people just do things for no good reason."

Zuko scowled and looked away, then stomped toward the door. "They don't do things like that."

* * *

Zuko lay awake on his bed, despite it being only noon. He didn't feel like meditating.

"You really should learn to lighten up, you know."

"Hello Maru," he said without surprise. Was he already getting used to her popping up out of nowhere?

"I heard what you said on the deck," she continued, clasping her hands together and bowing her head somberly. "I think it's time I told you a little more about myself."

He sat up and gave her a small nod to show he was listening.

"I was born in a small Earth Kingdom village," she began. "I was a big help with farming thanks to my earthbending. The village elders said they'd never seen someone so powerful at such a young age. That should have been my first hint."

"That you were the Avatar."

"Exactly. I found out the day I turned sixteen. It's sort of hard to describe how I felt after that. It was like..."

"Like everything you knew got flipped upside down," Zuko finished for her. "Like nothing was ever going to be the same again."

She nodded. "You've been through it too. I felt all sorts of emotions. I was kind of excited at being given such a great honor, but I think what I felt the most was fear. We were at war with the Fire Nation. Not only that, but everyone just seemed to assume that since I was the Avatar, I would automatically know what to do. They told me it was my destiny to fight the Fire Nation and end the war. That's a lot of pressure to put on a sixteen year old."

"Tell me about it."

Maru chuckled sympathetically. "Anyway, I devoted all my energy into mastering earthbending. That meant no time for friends, and no one wanted to marry me. I was too intimidating. Which sucked, because there was this one guy I _really_ liked." She closed her eyes halfway and stared at the floor. "He got killed when the Fire Nation burned our village down. He was trying to hold them off so that I could escape. He told me I was more important than him, and that I should run. I didn't even disagree with him."

Zuko said nothing.

"After that, I went on the run. It took about six months for your uncle to catch up with me. I wasn't a very good bender at the time. I'd watched my entire village get slaughtered and I thought the same thing was waiting for me. So I broke down crying and told him to get it over with. I guess he took pity on me, because he helped me back up and invited me inside a cottage where he was staying."

His features softened. "My uncle's a nice guy like that."

"Yeah, he really is. Anyway, he fixed me tea and offered to teach me firebending. He explained that he had nothing to do with the people who burned my village, and that he disagreed with his father's idea that the Avatar needed to die." She blushed. "And I think he may have liked me a little."

Zuko blinked. "Wait, how long ago was this?"

"A little over forty years ago. Your uncle was around eighteen at the time."

"Then why do you look my age? My father would have only been about twelve years old."

"Oh, I lived for another twenty some-odd years. I didn't practice my bending much. I just wanted to blend in, live a normal life where I wasn't being hunted down. Of course, the fact that I was being hunted meant that I always had to be on the run, so I couldn't settle down with anybody either. Your father finally tracked me down when I was close to forty."

He stared blankly.

"As for why I look like this... Roku told me that the way we are in life determines how we'll look in death. I guess I was always that scared sixteen year old girl running away from her destiny."

He did not look at her as he asked his next question. "How did you die?"

"I don't remember," she answered. "I wasn't even aware I _was_ dead until I saw Roku and he explained everything to me. He said that's what happens when you die a violent death. It's designed to keep you from being angry about it for the rest of eternity. I'm not sure I _want_ to remember."

"So my father did kill you."

"Yeah, I guess so." They sat in silence for a few moments. "Zuko," she pleaded, "don't run away like I did. It'll only end badly for you, and the world."

His head snapped up and he glared at her. "I don't need to be reminded of that. I know how dangerous it is for the Avatar. But maybe things will be different this time."

"How so?"

"I'm the one in charge of hunting the Avatar, right? If my father thinks I'm still doing that, then I'm not in any danger. Facing him would actually be a worse idea than hiding."

"But that would still be bad for the world," she countered. "Your friends were right when they said that the Comet is too much of a danger for you to just run away and wait until it's over. You don't know who your father is going to target next. You have to stop him by summer's end."

He looked away. "I know. I'm just not sure if I can."

"You have to try."

He glared at her again. "I'm getting sick and tired of people telling me I _have_ to do things. Maybe I don't want to save the world. Maybe I just want to wake up in my bed and discover that the last three years have just been a bad dream. Maybe I'm not meant to do this."

Maru looked at him sadly. "But you're the only one who can."

* * *

"I've _got_ it!" Sokka exclaimed triumphantly as he and Katara charged into Zuko's room unannounced. He was holding a map over his head.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, annoyed. He had been trying to meditate again, but something always seemed to distract him.

"I know how we're going to get up to the Southern Air Temple!" he answered, laying the map down on a nearby desk that rested directly under Zuko's broadswords. Since it was clear that he would not be meditating any time soon, Zuko rose and walked over to join them.

Sokka pointed to a spot near the Batola Mountain Range. "Okay, you see this river here?"

"Yes."

"I talked with your navigator and he said it should be more than wide enough to fit the ship through. It gets within a couple hundred meters of the base of this mountain." He pointed to another spot on the map. "That's where the Southern Air Temple is."

"Okay, so we don't have to go on foot for all that distance," Zuko replied. "That still doesn't explain how we're going to get up there without spending a month climbing."

Sokka raised a finger. "Ah, but that's where you come in. Do you remember what happened when Zhao launched that boulder at us?"

"Yes."

"You know how you were able to fly by shooting fire from your hands and feet?"

"Yes," he answered again. "Where are you going with this?"

"I was thinking: instead of climbing, maybe you could just fly us up there with your flame jets!"

Zuko blinked. "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"It's better than anything I could come up with," Katara offered. "And unless you have any ideas, I think that's what we should go with."

"But it's completely insane! There's no way I could do that!"

"You did it before," Sokka pointed out. "Where do you think I got the idea from?"

Zuko shook his head. "You don't understand. When I was doing it before... it didn't feel like I was in control. It's like something just took over my body and I was watching myself do those things. I don't think I can do it whenever I want."

"Okay, okay, I see where you're going with this. We still have a few days left until we reach the river. You can spend that time learning to fly."

"Or I could spend it thinking of a plan that's not completely crazy."

"If you can come up with something better I'd love to hear it," rebutted Katara. "But right now this is the fastest way to get to the top of the mountain. We need all the time we can get."

He looked at her. "I know. I just don't see how this is going to work."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "It will. You just have to try."

* * *

The deck was empty save the three of them. Zuko had given orders stating that they were not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency.

"So why are we up here alone?" Sokka asked.

"The fewer people know about this, the better," he answered. "Besides, I don't want anybody getting hurt if something goes wrong."

"So then why are _we_ up here?"

"Because it was your idea. Now stand back."

Both of them moved about ten feet away. Zuko breathed in deeply, then commanded fire to come out of his hands. It did, but he stayed rooted to the deck.

"It's not working."

"Try harder!" Sokka shouted back.

Zuko growled. "It's not that simple! How is this supposed to lift me off the ground, anyway?"

He walked closer, placing a hand underneath his chin. "Well, besides the fact that it already did, I figure it has something to do with the way your fire blasts are able to knock people back."

"Huh?"

"Well, think about it. Normally people don't go flying back when they get hit by fire. Explosions, sure, but that's really just the hot gases. I'm guessing your firebending lets you do something to the fire to give it that effect when it hits people."

Zuko considered that. "That makes sense."

"Now, if we take that force and direct it at whatever you happen to be standing on, you can push yourself upward and use it to fly."

"Okay."

"You have pretty strong legs, too," added Katara. "It might help if you jump at the same time to give yourself a head start."

He nodded. "Okay, I think I've got it now. Stand back."

They moved away again. This time Zuko crouched down slightly, ready to leap into the air. After a few moments of preparation, he jumped and shot flames from his hands and feet.

"Hey, it's working!" Sokka shouted.

And it was. Zuko wouldn't truly understand the level of elation he felt in that moment until much later. His whole life had been a series of failed attempts to fly, albeit on a more metaphorical level. And yet, despite everything that had gone wrong in the past, he was fifteen feet above the deck supported by nothing but fire. Fire that he alone controlled. He wondered what Katara's face looked like right now.

He shouldn't have opened his eyes. He shouldn't have looked over to where Katara was standing to see if she was watching him. He shouldn't have taken his focus off of the direction his feet were pointing. But he did all of those things, and went rocketing into a back flip, slamming into metal a few feet below the bridge before falling to the deck. He narrowly avoided landing on his head.

"Zuko!" Katara shouted as she rushed over to him. "Zuko, are you alright?"

"He can't hear you," said Sokka. "He's unconscious."

Katara looked at Zuko with concern, cradling his head in her lap. She looked up at Sokka. "I think that's enough practice for today."

* * *

Zuko woke up some time later, clutching his head. If he had dreamed, he did not remember it. It took him several seconds to realize that there was somebody else in the room.

"How are you?" she asked, stroking his forehead. "Do you feel okay?"

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Katara?"

She laughed. "Looks like it's my turn to watch over you."

Zuko cracked a smile. "I'll bet you're enjoying this."

"Are you kidding? I was worried sick about you! Do you have any idea how hard you hit your head?"

He smirked. "Not as hard as you, I'll bet."

"Funny," she deadpanned. "Are you feeling alright?"

He nodded and sat up. "I should be okay." He looked down at his clothes. "Did you...?"

"I just took off your armor," she answered. "You were kind enough not to take advantage of me when I was unconscious, so I figured I should return the favor."

Zuko gave a wry chuckle. "Thanks."

They stared at each other for a few moments. "Zuko, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What are your feelings towards your father?"

He backed away a little, leaning against the cold metal wall. "Why are you asking that?"

"Well, I'm just wondering why you're so reluctant to fight him. I mean, it makes sense if you're just scared that you won't be able to beat him, but you took down Zhao with no problem."

"That's because I knew I could," he replied, crossing his arms. "Zhao isn't a master firebender. The only reason he's so highly ranked is because he's a world class kiss-up to my father."

"Still, it's not just because you're scared, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

She shuffled closer to him. "You're still trying to defend your father even though he's the one who banished you and gave you a scar just for interrupting a war meeting."

"I'm not defending him!" Zuko insisted. "I'm being practical! I'll never be able to defeat him, so why bother? I'll just end up getting myself killed!"

"But it's not because he's a better fighter than you," Katara replied.

He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"He didn't just give you that scar for disrespecting him. He did it for another reason."

Zuko looked down as he realized what she was implying. "It's because I refused to fight him."

"Exactly. Now why did you do that?"

He glared. "Because I wouldn't be able to beat him."

"You could have at least tried. I didn't think someone like you would give up so easily."

"You don't understand. This was three years ago. I've spent that whole time catching up on firebending. I could barely even make fire at that age, while my father was already a master. If I'd challenged him, I wouldn't be here right now."

Katara sighed and shook her head. "Zuko, that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what _are_ you talking about?"

"I think you tried to surrender to your father because you wanted his approval. And I think the reason you're refusing to fight him now is because, on some level, you still do."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? He burned half your face and banished you for trying to do the right thing. That doesn't make you want to go back there and destroy him?"

"Would you want to kill _your_ father for trying to teach you a little respect?"

She looked stunned. "I cannot believe you just said that."

"Look," he explained. "It doesn't matter what he did to me. He's still my father."

"Yes, a father who abused you and doesn't want anything to do with you. He's a monster, Zuko!"

"That might be how you see it," he replied. "But people don't just do things like that for no good reason. I think, in his own way, he might have just been trying to teach me a lesson."

"He sent you halfway across the world just for talking out of turn!"

"And that's how things work in the royal family!" he shouted, causing all the candles in the room to surge upward. "The Fire Nation has a very strict code of honor. If you disrespect your parents, bad things happen. My father told me that I would learn respect, and suffering would be my teacher. And you know what? Ever since he banished me, I've had to grow up and see things the way they really are. If he hadn't sent me away three years ago, I never would have found out who I was. Banishing me was the best thing he could have done for me."

Katara just closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine. If that's the way you want to see it, then I guess I can't help you."

"Katara..."

She stood up. "Let's just get above deck. Sokka had another idea that he wants you to see."

He rose as well. "Fine."

* * *

When they reached the deck, a gigantic contraption blocked their view of the ocean. At its base was a wheel that lay parallel to the deck, with handles protruding from every spoke. Turning it would lower the arm of the mechanism, then a rope would be cut to send it rocketing back up again, launching whatever happened to be in the spade-shaped bucket high into the air. Ordinarily it was stowed in a compartment below the deck, but someone had raised it while he was resting.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sokka..." he began through gritted teeth, "why is my ship's catapult above deck?"

"I'm glad you asked," Sokka replied with an unnecessarily grand flourish. "It occurred to me that jumping isn't going to get you high enough to fly up the side of a mountain."

"Finally, you realize that. Have you thought of something less insane?"

"You could say that," he answered. "So here's the plan: you, me and Katara all get into the catapult..."

Zuko glared. "I said _less_ insane."

"Just let me finish. Then, we launch ourselves towards the mountain, and then right before we start to fall, you turn on your flame jets and rocket us to the top!" He raised his arms above his head, wearing a satisfied grin on his face.

"I'm going back inside."

Katara grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "Zuko, as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Jumping won't give you enough of a head start. This thing can launch us most of the way, and then you can finish with half the effort. It makes a lot more sense than just trying to climb our way up."

He stared incredulously at them. "Have you _both_ gone crazy?"

They did not reply.

"Look," he continued. "That thing was designed to break through fortress walls. It doesn't even manage that high of an angle. If we get in that thing, it's going to fire us straight at the mountain."

"Don't you have ways of adjusting the trajectory?" Sokka inquired.

He nodded. "That curve at the top of the bucket is designed to make the projectile roll upward into a higher arc, and we can do different torsion levels to adjust for distance. But this is meant for launching giant flaming boulders, not people."

"So, in other words, you need to calibrate it."

"Yes."

"Hm." Sokka stroked his chin. "Well, no time like the present. Get in, everybody!"

The two of them just stared at him.

"On second thought, maybe Zuko should just get in."

He crossed his arms. "No way."

"Oh, come on! This'll totally work! Besides you still need practice, and I figure the only way you're gonna learn is under pressure. Hop in!"

"Sokka, I want you to listen very closely."

He leaned closer. "Uh-huh?"

"No."

"Okay, fine," he replied. "I guess we just won't get to go to the Southern Air Temple."

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"We'll just sail the seas endlessly, looking for a harbor, but none will take us in, for we belong to the ocean." He made several dramatic gestures as he continued. "The sun will light our way in the daytime, and the stars will be our guides at night. We shall have no destination, for the journey is the most important part. And when we finally meet death..."

Zuko grumbled and stepped forward. "Fine. If it'll shut you up, I'll do it."

"Awesome!" He jumped up and down, clapping his hands together. "Katara, help me lower it."

The two of them turned the wheel at the base, bringing the arm into position. Zuko tied a rope between two rings; one on the underside of the bucket, the other attached to the deck. After making sure that there was no slack, he climbed into the bucket.

"Sokka," he said, his voice full of menace. "I just want you to know. If something goes wrong, I _will_ hurt you. Badly."

Sokka gulped and nodded to show he understood. "Don't worry about it. Just focus on making fire and you'll be fine."

He grumbled and settled into a crouching position, ready to leap. Sokka cut the rope, and Zuko's stomach hit his spine as his body was rocketed upward. He barely reacted quickly enough to leap off at the apex of the swing, ordering fire to come and save him from falling.

The fire had other plans.

"Come on, come on!" Fire came in short spurts, but it was not nearly enough for him to control. "Waaaaugh!"

Seeing that the water was his inevitable destination, Zuko put his hands in front of him and straightened his body into a dive. The water broke easily beneath him, and he surfaced a few seconds later.

They saw the splash from the deck. Sokka placed a hand underneath his chin and stroked it thoughtfully. "Hm... pretty good distance, but he's got to work on that fire. Otherwise we're just gonna fall to the ground."

Katara smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow! Katara, what was that for?"

"Aren't you forgetting that he's still in the water? We have to go rescue him!"

"Oh, right."

The door creaked open behind them, and they both froze. This was going to be difficult to explain.

"What is going on out here?" Iroh asked, and they both turned around sheepishly. "Where's my nephew?"

Sokka pointed behind them.

The old man gasped. "Zuko!" The ship was fast approaching him. Iroh grabbed one of the ropes and hurled it overboard. "Zuko, grab on!"

Zuko grabbed on, and the three of them pulled him back onto the deck. He clambered on and stood up quickly, then lunged towards Sokka with his fist held high. Iroh intercepted him before he could get that far.

"Zuko, what is going on?"

"You... idiot..." he snarled, baring his teeth. "I could have died!"

"Hey, you're the one who wasn't able to summon fire quick enough. That's hardly my fault."

"You shouldn't have convinced me to climb in there in the first place!"

" _Enough_!" Iroh shouted. "What were you three doing up here?"

"Sokka tried launching Zuko out of a catapult," Katara explained. "It's part of his plan for getting up to the Southern Air Temple."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "What's the other part?"

"Flame jets," she replied flatly, glaring at Sokka with her arms crossed.

The old man instantly changed his demeanor, putting a hand to his belly as he laughed. "Oh, you mean the Bottle Rocket technique! We used to have a lot of fun with that around the palace!"

They all stared at him.

"You mean I could have just had _you_ teach me how to do it?" Zuko asked, exasperated.

"Of course. If it involves fire, chances are I know how to do it. You really should seek counsel with your elders more often."

"Okay then," he said, straightening up. "Show me how."

"Well, you start by thinking happy thoughts," Iroh answered as he crouched slightly. "You must be in a positive frame of mind in order for this to work. Any doubts you have are like rocks that keep you anchored to the ground. You must cast them off."

Katara snapped her fingers. "Okay, now I get it."

"I don't," replied Zuko. "How is a positive frame of mind going to help me firebend?"

"Well, think about what just happened," she explained. "You were going on and on about how it wasn't going to work, and that's why it didn't. But when you tried it yesterday, you were able to do it because you believed it could happen."

"She is right," agreed Iroh. "Your spirit is weighed down by all the conflict in your life. Fire is fueled by _all_ the emotions inside of you. It is not just anger that creates it. If you want to fly, your spirit must be free."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just show me how it's done."

Closing his eyes, Iroh crouched lower to the ground. The three of them backed away from him, and after a few moments he shot off the deck like a rocket, fire trailing from his hands and feet. He stayed in the air for several moments, then lowered himself back down to the deck, keeping his eyes closed the whole time. When he landed, he opened them.

He looked at Zuko. "Now you try."

Zuko nodded and assumed the same stance his uncle had. He took a few deep breaths and tried to make the fire come.

"Think of something that makes you happy," Iroh advised. "Focus on it. Imagine soaring into the sky to retrieve it."

He tried to remember the last time he was truly happy. A memory came to him, and he smiled. He focused on the memory even as he leaped off the deck, trailing fire from his hands and feet. He knew he was in the air without having to open his eyes. As the memory continued to play in his mind, others came with it. His mood quickly soured, and Zuko opened his eyes to banish them from his thoughts.

And proceeded to fall to the deck. Something living broke his fall.

"Ow..." Sokka moaned from beneath him, and Zuko stood up. He started walking inside, as if in a daze. He didn't want to practice anymore.

"Zuko, wait!" Katara shouted, rushing after him.

He stopped.

"You were doing it!" she said excitedly. "What went wrong?"

"Nothing," he lied, trying to move past her.

She stepped in front of his path. "What were you thinking about?"

He refused to look at her. "My mother."

The reveal stunned her enough that she was easily pushed aside. He walked through the door.

* * *

Over the next few days, they practiced putting their plan into motion. Zuko was launched from the catapult a number of times, and the crew began gathering to watch. Eventually he would grow angry and order them all to get back to work, but it was obvious to all involved that he was having at least a little bit of fun with the whole thing. Sokka certainly was whenever the two of them accompanied Zuko on his little flights. They never worked out very well, but they were certainly thrilling. Even Katara started to enjoy them a bit.

As the training continued, it became increasingly clearer that Zuko could only maintain the flame jets when he was on his own. He suggested that he go to the Southern Air Temple alone, but Sokka and Katara would not hear of it. Sokka jokingly suggested that Iroh carry them since he was the expert, but the old man replied that he weighed far too much already, and he did not desire to be launched out of a catapult in the direction of a mountain. They would just have to work on strengthening Zuko's flames so that he could support the three of them.

Eventually they ran out of time.

"We're already here," Zuko observed as the river's mouth came into view. They crossed its threshold moments later, and the rest of the day was spent preparing for the journey. They each packed a light meal to sustain them, and Katara brought a few sacks with her to hold anything they might find. Other than that, they took nothing. By mid-afternoon, they had reached the mountain.

"I'd just like to say a few words, in case we don't make it back," Zuko began as they prepared to enter the catapult. "I appreciate the dedication all of you have shown to me. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. Thank you."

"Quit talking like we're never going to see you again," Lieutenant Jee scolded. "You'll only be gone a few hours."

"Hopefully wiser for the experience," Iroh added.

"All the same, I appreciate it," he replied. "My uncle is in charge until I get back. I don't want anybody slacking off."

The men all nodded their assent.

"Now get going!" Jee encouraged.

"Alright." The three of them climbed into the bucket of the catapult. There was a certain shakiness to their movements, betraying the nervous doubts that came before every big risk. Zuko stood in the middle, spreading his feet and arms out away from his sides. Sokka and Katara moved to either side of him, wrapping their arms around his torso and pressing their bodies close to his. He drew in a sharp breath as they each held on as tight as they could.

"Zuko." He turned his head to see one last onlooker, visible only to him. "Good luck," she said. "I hope you find what I couldn't."

"I will," he promised.

"You'll what?" asked Sokka.

"Never mind." He looked at Iroh and gave him a nod. His uncle nodded back. Sokka and Katara lifted their legs off the ground, intertwining them with each other between Zuko's thighs. He barely strained under the added weight.

"Now!" Iroh shouted, and behind them the swordsman cut the rope. There was no time to say goodbye as the three of them were launched from the catapult, high above the ship. Zuko kicked off at the height of the swing, and soon they were traveling through the air.

When they reached the apex of the arc, Zuko focused all his energy on summoning fire from his hands and feet. The fire came...

...but only succeeded in slowing them down.

"We're still falling!" Sokka panicked. "It's not funny this time! Try harder!"

"I'm trying as hard as I can! You're too heavy!"

"Well I'm _not_ letting go!"

There was no time for further conversation as they drew inexorably closer to the mountain. Time slowed for Zuko as adrenaline overpowered his senses and let him witness with perfect clarity the moments leading to his own demise. The cliff was drawing ever closer, and despite his best efforts, he was powerless to stop it. They were going to die.

As soon as the thought entered his mind, Zuko felt his body moving as if possessed. The meager flames flaring from his hands and feet became pillars of fire, rocketing them up, up and away from a mountainy death. He surrendered control to whatever had decided to save them. Like Sokka and Katara, he was now simply along for the ride.

He felt consciousness slipping away as they neared the top of the mountain, though his body did not slow down in the slightest. The temple came into view at last, and Zuko marveled at it while feeling like he was being pulled into a dream. He vaguely recognized being set down on the rocks, his two companions landing roughly beside him. As soon as he hit the ground, the whole world turned white.


	5. Crawling in the Dark Part 2

Zuko's eyes cracked slowly open, revealing a world out of focus. He blinked, trying to restore clarity.

Something flitted by him, and he turned his head toward the figure. He saw a boy, no older than twelve, dressed in orange and yellow robes with a blue arrow where his hair should be. He tried to sit up and reach over to him, but by the time he had risen the figure was gone.

He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes, letting out a groan as he realized how much his body ached.

"Zuko, are you alright?"

His head snapped up to where he heard the sound, and he saw Katara standing over him, holding out her hand. He waved her off and rose on his own, noticing that Sokka stood next to her. He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Sokka asked, looking around.

He couldn't remember at the moment. The details were slipping from his mind like water through a sieve, and he shook his head to clear the rest of them out. "Nothing," he answered. "Are we here?"

Katara nodded, gesturing behind them. Zuko felt the breath nearly leave him again as he witnessed the sight before him.

The Southern Air Temple loomed high above them, its proud spires rising as if to pierce the sky itself. The main peak rested across a short bridge near where they had landed, beyond which lay a snow-covered pathway winding up the mountain until it reached the temple. In one corner there rested a thicket of posts, with what looked like a square goal on either end. Zuko surmised that it must have been some kind of game.

What astonished him most was that the entire structure was still standing and not reduced to cinders like he had imagined. It seemed that fate had decided to have mercy on him in at least one respect.

"We're here," he pronounced with a solemnity that belied the awe he felt at being one of the few outsiders to ever visit an air temple. His amazement was tempered by the fact that the inhabitants were long dead. "Let's get going."

"Hey, has anyone seen the food?" Sokka inquired as he rooted around the bags. "I think I might have dropped it when we got launched out of the catapult."

"Serves you right for thinking of that idea in the first place," Zuko muttered. "Nearly got us killed."

"Yeah, but everything worked out in the end, didn't it?" he countered, abandoning his search and standing up to join them as they stared at the temple.

"Let's just move," the Avatar grumbled before starting across the bridge.

As they followed the pathway up to the temple, Zuko took note of just how desolate the place was. From the stories his uncle had passed down to him this place used to be thriving with monks, lemurs and flying bison. Now it was nothing more than a monument to a culture that had been lost to time; the only remaining evidence that they had ever existed at all.

By now they had drawn closer to the strange gathering of posts that he had noticed earlier, and from here it was evident that it had indeed been some kind of sport. A ball lay forgotten down in the snow in front of him, and he stopped walking for a moment to examine it.

A sudden whooshing sound drew his attention, and Zuko turned to see the same boy from earlier standing atop one of the posts. He held a ball in his hands, tossing it skyward before jumping and spinning to send it flying straight at him. He ducked instinctively, but nothing impacted the cliff behind him. He stood up and looked back to where the monk had been, but he was gone. The ball was still in the snow where he had seen it last.

"What's wrong?" asked Sokka as he scanned around warily. Katara looked at him in concern.

"Nothing," he replied, eyes still hunting for the mysterious figure. "I just thought I saw something coming at me."

"Okay, that's weird," he commented but said nothing further. They continued to scale the mountain.

Eventually they reached a courtyard, passing through an eye-shaped arch beyond which rested a fountain that had long lain dormant. Behind that there was a statue of an old monk with a long moustache. For some reason he couldn't explain, Zuko felt drawn to it.

"What is it?" Katara asked, laying a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"It feels like I know him somehow," he responded, still staring at the statue. "But I can't figure out why."

"Well, you _were_ an airbender in a past life," she reminded him. "Maybe you knew him then."

"Maybe. It feels like there's more to it than that."

Katara frowned, but before she could reply Sokka began whining again.

"Man, isn't there any food in this place? I should have eaten before we came up here."

Zuko turned to glare at him. "Sokka, this temple has been abandoned for a hundred years. You really think there's still food in here?"

"Hey, you think there might be scrolls in here even though your people burned everything. Why not hope for food?"

He rolled his eyes. "Let's get inside."

Moving past the statue and into the temple, they were presented with two staircases on either side of a massive hallway that led deeper into the structure.

"Three paths, three of us," Sokka commented. "Think we should split up?"

"We'll cover ground faster," the firebender agreed. "You two take the staircases; I'll see what's at the end of this hall."

"I'm gonna keep looking for food," Sokka decided, heading up the staircase on the left. "But if I see any scrolls I'll let you know." He climbed out of sight, leaving the two of them alone.

"Be careful," Katara encouraged as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I will," he promised before moving further into the hall while Katara took the staircase to the right. As soon as he was alone, Zuko sighed.

"Now, let's see where this leads."

* * *

Sokka's stomach grumbled at him as he got to the top of the stairs and found himself in a long hallway with numerous doors. Deciding to open them all, he poked his head into each chamber in the hopes of finding some hundred year old snacks.

The rooms were all identical, apparently being bedchambers of some sort. There were a few personal effects from whatever monks had slept here a hundred years prior, but no food. Sokka frowned in disappointment.

He entered the final room at the end of the hall with nothing to show for his efforts. Something leaning against the wall caught his attention and he strode over to it. It was a long wooden staff with narrow slits cut into the sides, though what it was meant for Sokka had no idea. He smiled in satisfaction.

"At least I get a cool souvenir."

The door creaked open suddenly, and it took every ounce of control he had not to fly into a panic. Retreating into a corner, he spied a horned shadow growing larger in the doorway, heading inside the room.

' _A firebender? Here?_ Now?' he boggled, drawing his legs closer to his chest. ' _Oh man, oh man, oh man_...'

His worrying proved unnecessary as the apparent firebender entered the room and he was confronted instead with a small creature with white fur and large green eyes. Sokka immediately started drooling.

"Dinner..." he moaned, stalking carefully toward the lemur before breaking into an all out run. Screeching, it turned tail and fled the room, but Sokka chased after it.

"Hey, come back! I'm really, really hungry!"

* * *

Katara reached the top of the staircase and began heading down a long, semicircular pathway that ran the circumference of the tower. She reached a doorway after a short while and peeked inside, finding exactly what she was looking for.

"A library," she whispered in awe, stepping through the door into the perfectly preserved room. This whole structure seemed untouched by the Fire Nation, as if they had only been interested in eradicating the Air Nomads themselves and not their belongings. That proved very fortunate for them.

Opening one of the sacks she carried, Katara walked over to one of the many shelves and began carefully loading scrolls into it. Despite their age, the scrolls were in excellent condition, albeit slightly weathered by a hundred years of isolation.

When that sack was full, she opened the next and began loading more scrolls. It took about three bags to hold all of them, but the load was light enough for her to carry. Katara left the library and continued down the hall, hoping to meet up with the others before long.

* * *

Zuko wandered down the long hallway, not quite certain what he was looking for. Still, he felt drawn to it in a way he couldn't quite explain, not even to himself.

Nothing had felt right since they arrived. He was overwhelmed with a feeling that wasn't quite déjà vu, a notion that he had been here once in a lifetime that was long forgotten. And nothing had been as he expected.

What _had_ he been expecting, anyway? He'd only come here because it was his last hope of finding anything to do with airbending, excepting the other temples of course. This was hardly the first one he'd gone to. He still remembered standing in the courtyard of the Western Air Temple with his uncle immediately after he was banished.

"What a stunning view," Iroh had breathed, admiring the beautiful vista. Zuko had not shared his sentiments.

"The only view I want to see, is the Avatar in chains," he had practically spat, so full of anger and so desperate to vent it in some way, no matter how petty.

"You know," his uncle had replied, "the next Avatar is supposed to have been born in the Fire Nation. I don't understand why you would want to go after one of your own countrymen like that."

"The Avatar is a _threat_ to the Fire Nation," he had rebutted, naively, not knowing the irony of his words. "He deserves no sanctuary."

"Prince Zuko, it's only been a week since your banishment," Iroh had reminded him. "You should take some time to heal and rest."

"What else would I expect to hear from the _laziest_ man in the Fire Nation?" he had snarled then, oblivious to the way his uncle cared for him, had always cared. "The only way to regain my honor is to find the Avatar," he continued grimly. "So I will." A hateful frown had overtaken his face at that moment.

"If I have to," he had declared then, "I will spend every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him."

Iroh had simply smiled warmly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

Zuko sighed and closed his eyes, reflecting on how true his uncle's words had turned out to be. Destiny did have a sense of humor. One that was cruel and twisted, playing to an audience that was too afraid to laugh.

Opening his eyes, he spotted the young monk again, just in time to see him dash down the hall. This time, rather than sit around staring, he decided to give chase.

* * *

Katara eventually came across another staircase and followed it down, ending up in the long hallway where she had last seen Zuko travelling. Deciding to wait for him, she set down the bags of scrolls and rested.

She only got a few moments respite, however, before she heard a distant screeching that was suddenly getting closer, followed by a human shouting. It sounded like...

"Sokka!" She shot to her feet immediately, only to be blindsided by something small and furry that practically knocked her to the ground. Sokka finished the job a few seconds later when he collided with her. Zuko arrived on the scene moments after that running at full speed, unable to slow down before stumbling over them and crashing on top of the pile.

The lemur Sokka had been chasing bounded on top of Zuko's head, looking back and forth for a few seconds before retreating down the hall. Sokka pawed feebly after it, whining about his empty stomach.

"Did you find any food?" he asked them after a few moments.

"Shut up, Sokka," Zuko growled, picking himself up. The two of them followed suit. "Did you find the scrolls?"

"Yeah, actually," she replied, gesturing behind her to the three bags full of airbender literature. "There was a whole library full of them."

"Let's take a look," he decided, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out a scroll. He opened it to reveal a page full of characters detailing the history of the temple. While interesting, it was not what they had come here for.

He opened another that showed a large set of double doors as well as instructions for opening them. Again, it wasn't what he was looking for. Zuko growled in frustration as he continued digging through the pile, only to be confronted with more information he didn't want.

"It's useless!" he shouted after a few minutes, hurling one of the scrolls to the ground. Katara picked it up and cradled it carefully, opening it up again.

"Zuko, these are priceless artifacts," she admonished. "Pieces of information about the Air Nomads that have been lost for a century."

"But no forms," he rebutted. "No instructions. Nothing in there about airbending."

"You haven't even looked through the other two bags yet," she pointed out. "I'm sure you'll be able to work something out."

Zuko breathed out slowly, pushing his temper aside. "It's better than nothing," he agreed after a few moments, then glanced around. "Where's Sokka?"

"Down here!" he shouted from around the bend in the hallway. "Looking for food!"

Both of them rolled their eyes and walked over, carrying the scrolls with them. They arrived at massive double doors that sealed off access to the main chamber, decorated with the traditional whorls of the Air Nomads.

"I already tried opening it, but it's useless," Sokka informed them. "There's no key."

"I'm not so sure," said Zuko. "Let me see those scrolls again."

Katara handed him a bag and he rifled through it, opening all the scrolls again before finally finding the one for which he was searching.

"What is it?" she asked, glancing at the instructions printed on the scroll.

"It says to plant my feet like this," he replied, moving into a horse stance. "Then breathe in deeply and bend air into those horns."

"Just like that?" challenged Sokka. "I thought you said you couldn't airbend."

"Only because I don't know any forms," he rebutted. "If I follow the instructions on this scroll I should be able to do it."

"If you say so."

Sighing exasperatedly, he handed the scroll to Katara. "Here goes."

Zuko followed the instructions to the letter, breathing deeply before pushing his arms out exactly as the scroll described.

Nothing happened.

He held his position for a few more moments, grinding his teeth and trying to force the air to obey him like he would command his fire. The air ignored him.

"Rrgh, what am I doing _wrong_?" he demanded.

"You're not using your spirit."

Zuko froze, then pivoted slowly. Sokka and Katara hadn't said that. In fact, he didn't see them anywhere. When he turned around, he saw the boy he'd been chasing all around the temple, standing there with a broad smile on his round face.

"What's happening?" he asked, glancing around in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I'm Aang," the airbender replied, still grinning like a sunny day. "Don't you know how to airbend?"

"Not really," he answered honestly. "Nobody's been around to teach me."

"That's too bad," the monk sympathized. "But it's really easy. You just have to feel the air all around you and reach out with your spirit." He stretched his arms out and gyrated his torso a bit, as if following some unseen current. "You can't just force it to listen to you. You have to think positively."

Zuko recalled what his uncle had told him about thinking happy thoughts, and understood what Aang was telling him. "I see. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the airbender insisted, then began sprinting back down the hall.

"Hey, wait!" he shouted, then tried to chase after him again only to be tripped up by a bag of scrolls. He groaned.

"Hey, what happened?" Sokka was asking as Zuko picked himself up. "You completely zoned out for a while there."

"I'm not sure," he answered, rubbing his head. "But I think I've got it now. Stand back."

The two of them acquiesced, and Zuko assumed the position he had before, this time focusing on calm, positive thoughts like the ones that allowed him to fly, feeling the air around him and trying to control its flow.

After a few moments, the air obeyed.

Streams of wind rushed from his palms into the pipes, causing the whorls to reverse and undo the locking mechanism that kept the doors sealed. A few moments later, the lock was undone and the doors started to open on their own.

There was a sudden gust as hundred year old air came rushing over them. After a few moments of standing there staring, the group ventured forward into what appeared to be the temple's main sanctuary.

"Whoa," Zuko breathed as soon as they stepped inside.

The chamber was beyond tremendous. The ceiling was so high that Zuko could not even see it from here, and the cylindrical space had a huge circumference that comfortably held a host of life-sized statues that must have numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands.

"This must be their Avatar sanctuary," posited Katara as she pointed at each of the statues. "Look: there's air, water, earth and fire. The Avatar Cycle."

Zuko nodded his agreement, noticing something else. "It stops at Roku," he observed, coming to a halt before the likeness of his bearded predecessor. "The next Avatar isn't here."

"Maybe Sozin's armies showed up before they could get a statue made?" she guessed.

"Maybe," he half-agreed. "It feels weird, though. Everything about this place feels weird. Like something bad happened here."

"You mean besides the firebenders that showed up and killed every living thing?" Sokka remarked without ever ceasing his search for food.

Zuko glared. "I mean something just feels... off about this place. Unnatural. Like something was supposed to move on after what happened but it didn't." He clutched his head and shook it. "Uncle would be able to describe it better."

"Are you saying this place is... haunted?" asked Katara, and he almost denied it before realizing that was _exactly_ what he was saying.

"Maybe?" he answered as confidently as he could, which didn't amount to much. "I'm not sure. But I've been... seeing things and now I'm starting to feel it too."

"What kind of things?"

"I can't really describe it," he lied, wanting to keep Aang's existence to himself until he determined whether or not the young airbender actually was a hallucination or not. "It's just that something strange is going on here."

"The Avatar is supposed to be more in tune with the Spirit World," Katara reminded him. "Maybe that's why you can feel it."

"The only thing _I'm_ feeling is hunger," groused Sokka as he clutched his belly. "What I wouldn't give for these statues to suddenly turn into rock candy..."

"Sokka, _man up_!" Katara bellowed, unable to take any more. "Zuko and I haven't eaten either and _we're_ doing fine. Just think of something other than food for _once_ in your life!"

"Tell that to my stomach," he fired back, crossing his arms and raising his chin petulantly.

Zuko rolled his eyes and sighed. "You two stay here. I'm going to look around some more."

Without waiting for them to answer, he left the sanctuary, hoping to encounter Aang one more time.

* * *

He got his wish at the end of the hallway when he spotted the young airbender perched atop a high balcony. He had almost reached him when the monk decided to leap off into the air, plummeting towards the mountain below.

Before he could even fully process what he was doing, Zuko had leapt off after the boy. Thinking quickly, he summoned jets of fire to slow his body enough so that he would not be dashed on one of the various ledges. Within a few moments, he had caught up to the young monk, who seemed shocked that he was able to follow him.

"You're a firebender?" he inquired as they continued their descent.

Zuko nodded. "Don't worry, though. I'm not here to hurt you."

The airbender raised an eyebrow. "Why would you be?"

"I..." Having to concentrate on keeping himself in the air made it very difficult for him to think of an answer to that question. "It's just the last time firebenders came here..."

"I don't remember firebenders _ever_ coming here," Aang replied. "Nobody comes here except for Air Nomads."

By this time they were getting closer to the ground, so Zuko concentrated on slowing his descent enough to stick a decent landing. Once they touched down, he responded: "Well if that's the case, then how did I get up here?"

That appeared to perplex the monk for a few moments. "I don't know. How _did_ you get here?"

"Long story," he deflected, starting to walk forward. Aang followed. "I kinda didn't expect to run into any airbenders up here either."

Aang looked at him like he was crazy. "Why? Did something happen to them?"

"You see anyone else around?" he riposted, gesturing around them.

"No," he admitted. "I've been looking all over."

"For how long?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

Zuko sighed. "Look, I don't know how to break this to you, but... something happened to the Air Nomads. Something bad. That's why I wasn't expecting to see any."

"What do you mean?"

"It happened a hundred years ago," he started to explain. "The Fire Nation came up here and wiped them all out. I'm sorry."

Aang's face twisted into a mask of utter confusion. "A hundred years? I think I'd remember if there were no Air Nomads for a hundred years. Not to mention I'd be a lot older."

"Yeah," Zuko realized. "You would." He shook his head, trying to remember some kernel of information that seemed to be eluding him.

"At least this explains why you couldn't airbend," the boy remarked. "But why were you trying in the first place?"

"Because I'm the..." Zuko started to answer before a notion struck him and he stopped walking. "Wait."

"What is it?"

"Of course," he muttered, slapping himself on the forehead. "Why couldn't I see it before? That's why you don't remember, just like Maru..."

Aang started waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey, what are you talking about? Who's Maru?"

"The Avatar before me," Zuko finally answered. "And I think you might have been too."

* * *

"Is Zuko acting strange to you?" Katara asked a few moments after the Avatar had left.

Sokka shrugged and began sifting through the bags that held the airbender scrolls. "Eh, I never really got a picture of what 'normal' is for that guy."

"He seems confused," she agreed, clasping her hands over her chest. "Like he doesn't really know who he is."

"Hey, I'd be confused too if I found out I was the Avatar," he replied, selecting a scroll and plopping down on the floor of the chamber, leaning against the statue of Roku.

"I'm worried about him," she revealed. "He's been acting really strange since we got here. And it's like he's trying to hide things from us."

"Hey, I don't care what he does," Sokka insisted. "I'm just along for the ride."

Katara stomped her feet and whirled around to glare at him. "Would it kill you to think of somebody other than _yourself_ for once in your life?"

"Well, considering what it's done for _you_ , it just might," he fired back nonchalantly, not looking up from the scroll. A stream of water slapped him across the face a few seconds later and he stood up angrily.

"Hey! Priceless artifact here!" he protested, indicating the scroll. "Not to mention that _hurt_!"

"Oh, boo-hoo," Katara sneered, calling the water back to her and depositing it in a small bending pouch. "It got your attention at least."

Sokka crossed his arms and glared petulantly at her.

"Look, all I'm saying is that Zuko needs our help figuring things out right now," she continued. "And all you've been doing this whole time is whining about how much you want food. You weren't _that_ hungry before we left, so what are you really up to?"

"What?" He shrugged innocently. "A guy can't just be hungry?"

"Not to the point where it's all you'll talk about," she insisted. "You're worried about him too, aren't you? Only you don't want to admit it so you keep changing the subject."

"That's not true!" he rebutted, pointing accusatorily. "Because it's... not."

" _Real_ compelling argument there," she deadpanned.

"Okay, maybe a little!" he admitted, throwing his hands up. "But I really am hungry too!"

Katara rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever. Look, if you wanna stay up here and whine about food, then go right ahead. I'm going to look for Zuko." She turned around and strode out of the room.

"Okay, fine!" Sokka shouted after her, grabbing the long staff he'd found earlier. "I'll just stay here and guard the artifacts!" He slammed the staff against the ground, only for two sets of kite wings to fold out of the slits cut into the sides. He stared at it for a few moments.

"Well that's pretty cool, I guess. Turn into a snack dispenser and I'll really be impressed."

* * *

Aang regarded Zuko like his scar had decided to take up dancing. "What are you talking about?"

"I think I know why you don't remember anything," he replied. "It's what happens when you die a violent death. I think your spirit is having trouble moving on from what happened."

"Wait, slow down!" the airbender demanded, waving his arms frantically. "Who says I'm dead?"

"It explains why you haven't aged in a hundred years, and why I'm the only one who can see you. That's why I've been getting this weird feeling the whole time we've been here."

"Yeah, or you're completely wrong," he insisted. "I don't _feel_ dead."

"How many airbenders have you talked to lately?" Zuko challenged, and the monk wilted a little. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember showing the air scooter to some of the other kids around the temple, and then..." He frowned. "And then I've just been looking for everyone else ever since. I don't know how long it's been since I talked with anyone."

"It's because of what happened here," the firebender proposed. "Have you heard of Sozin's Comet?"

Aang shook his head. "No."

"It increases the power of firebenders by a hundredfold. Fire Lord Sozin used it to wipe out your people a hundred years ago. That's why none of them are around." He looked away sadly. "You must have been killed too."

"But then why am I still around?"

"Because you were the Avatar," he answered. "And I think your spirit is still bound to this place because of what happened here."

"No, you're wrong!" the airbender bellowed despite all evidence to the contrary. "Get away from me!" He started running away, and Zuko followed.

He saw the monk disappear into a large tent, and followed him inside. What he saw made his heart plummet into his stomach.

In front of him, Aang was staring similarly slack-jawed at the multitude of skeletons in the small tent, a great many of them firebenders. Against the far wall there rested the remains of two monks, one of them significantly smaller than the other.

The space surrounding them seemed to suddenly shift, and Zuko was confronted with a picture of things long past. The airbenders were alive again, but in mortal peril as an entire platoon of firebenders bore down on them.

One of the airbenders was Aang.

"I remember now," he narrated as the scene continued to play out before them. "Gyatso told me to come inside with him. He said he was going to stop them from using their fire."

Zuko watched as the monk named Gyatso took a large breath, then stretched out his hand toward the oncoming firebenders before clenching his fingers tightly into a fist. At first it seemed that nothing was happening, until every single one of them fell to their knees and began clutching their throats, as if the air they breathed was being siphoned straight from their bodies.

"I didn't understand what was going on," he continued. "I had no idea it was possible to do that with airbending."

The firebenders eventually collapsed to the ground, dead. Gyatso regarded them grimly, then glanced to his side.

Aang bowed his head. "And I couldn't hold my breath as long as Gyatso could."

A look of horror overtook the older monk's face as he realized what had happened. He desperately shook the limp body, trying to awaken him. But it was too late.

One of the firebenders managed to shakily sit up, launching a stream of fire at the bereaved monk, who did not make any effort to protect himself, covering the Avatar's already expired body with his own.

The scene evaporated and the bodies became skeletons once more. Zuko stood there trembling.

"Thank you," said Aang, looking him in the eye. "For helping me remember. Now I can move on." He turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Zuko shouted, reaching after him. "Don't go! You can't be gone! This wasn't right!"

Aang stopped, turned around and smiled at him hopefully. "It's up to you to make things right now." He continued walking until he passed right through the wall, proving once and for all that he had long since gone from this world.

Overwhelmed by a sudden sense of crushing sadness, Zuko collapsed to his knees and began to weep.

* * *

Katara finally reached the bottom of the mountain and was now following the footprints Zuko had left in the snow. They terminated near a ruined tent, and it looked as though he had gone inside. Breathing deeply, she crossed the threshold.

At first, all she saw was Zuko kneeling on the floor, sobbing quietly. It wasn't until she got closer and laid a hand on his shoulder that she noticed the remains of at least ten firebenders around them, as well as two airbender skeletons. Suddenly she felt like joining him there on the ground.

"Zuko?" she practically whispered. "Zuko, are you alright?"

His crying ceased, and Zuko answered her with a very torn voice: "He never knew."

Katara's brow furrowed. "Who never knew? Talk to me."

He stood up, still refusing to look at her, as though she was simply an object in the fog. "He never knew he was the Avatar," he continued. "They never told him."

"Zuko, what are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

"If he knew he was the Avatar, he might have been able to stop them," he rambled. "He might have stopped his people from being massacred, or maybe escaped. And then none of this would have _happened_!" He punctuated that exclamation by launching a flame at the wall of the tent, creating a fire that began to spread rapidly.

"I was wrong," he admonished himself while ignoring the blaze that was consuming everything around them. "There was no reason for this. In war there's always a reason. But this wasn't war." More voices began to creep in towards the end of that sentence, and his eyes lit up with a terrifying glow.

"IT WAS MURDER!" the voices shouted in outrage, just as he summoned a whirling sphere that extinguished the fire and demolished the walls of the tent.

Katara, lacking any sort of anchor, was hurled backward like so much debris.

* * *

Sokka had all but given up his search for food at this point. He was just about to resign himself to a slow death by starvation when a beating of wings reached his ears just before the lemur he'd encountered earlier came rushing inside the sanctuary and landed on the floor next to him, laying out a feast of various local fruits. Sokka hesitated for only a moment before devouring everything in sight.

The lemur climbed up on his shoulder as he ate, keeping him company. As his stomach grew full, Sokka found he was better able to appreciate the beauty of this sanctuary. The statues seemed almost lifelike in their attention to detail, down to the creases in their robes, the perfectly deadpan faces, the glowing white eyes...

Wait, what?

Sokka stood rapidly, sending the lemur scampering off his shoulder. All around him, the eyes of the various Avatar sculptures began to glow brilliant white, like he'd witnessed when Zuko defended their village from Zhao's boulder. That could only mean one thing.

Not even bothering to finish the rest of the meal the lemur had brought him, Sokka dashed out of the sanctuary to see what was dangerous enough to cause such a reaction in the Avatar.

When he finally reached the bottom of the peak, he saw what he figured was Zuko encased in a bubble of high speed wind that threatened to send both of them flying. Katara was crouched behind a low wall, and he moved up next to her.

"What happened?"

"I don't know!" she shouted over the wind. "I couldn't get a straight answer out of him! I guess he saw something in there that really upset him!"

"But he's airbending! Why is he airbending?"

"This is the Southern Air Temple," she said more quietly, her voice barely audible above the shrieking gale. "Maybe he thinks it's appropriate." She closed her eyes, then set her jaw and opened them again. "I'm going to try and talk him down."

"Well do it quickly, before he blows us off the mountain!"

She nodded and stood up, walking with grim determination into the tempest. "Zuko!" she shouted. "I know you must feel awful about what happened here! But it wasn't your fault! The Fire Nation's done some terrible things in the past hundred years, but you have the power to make up for it now! You can stop this from happening again!"

The words seemed to reach him, and Zuko's body started to descend as the winds that whipped around him began to dissipate. He touched the ground, collapsing immediately into Katara's waiting arms.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

"It's alright, Zuko," she soothed, holding him tightly. "Everything's alright."

Sokka regarded the scene for a moment, then crossed his arms. "Okay, now that whatever that was is over with, how are we gonna get back?"


	6. Crawling in the Dark Part 3

"You're all heart, Sokka," Katara deadpanned as she released Zuko from her embrace.

"Hey, I'm just saying we should be thinking of how to get down from this mountain now that we got what we came here for," Sokka replied defensively.

"I still think you should be more sensitive to—"

"It's fine," Zuko interjected as he stood. "We really should get going. I've had enough of this place."

Katara frowned, but nodded all the same. "Well, I guess you could just fly us back."

"How? The only reason we made it up here with my fire is because something took over my body again."

"Your eyes _were_ glowing," Sokka confirmed, stroking his chin. "I don't suppose you'd be able to go into it again?"

Zuko shook his head.

"Okay, well then that leaves... Oh!" His eyes lit up as he was suddenly struck with inspiration. "Wait right here!" He started running up the path to the sanctuary again.

Katara and Zuko watched him go with puzzled expressions.

"So Zuko," she began after a few moments. "Who were you talking about back there?"

He sighed and bowed his head. "His name was Aang. He was the Avatar after Roku. The reason he never got a statue is because they never told him that."

"Why not?"

"He was only twelve," he answered. "The Avatar is supposed to find out when they turn sixteen."

"I see." She gazed at him sympathetically. "Was his spirit the one you were sensing?"

Zuko nodded.

She stayed quiet for several moments, then cocked her head to the side and lifted the corner of her lips into a good-natured smirk.

"You never told me you could communicate with your past lives."

"I didn't know," he replied. "I only found out last week that I could talk to the Avatar before me. Her name was Maru."

"That's who you were talking to right before we left," she realized. "Are you going to be okay? You seemed pretty upset back there."

"I'll be fine," he insisted, setting his jaw in an effort to appear more stoic. He mostly succeeded.

"If you say so."

Silence ruled over the next few minutes, broken only by Sokka's return.

"I've got an idea!" he shouted as he came down the hill. He ran up to Zuko and deposited something in his hands. "Here."

Zuko gripped the long wooden staff, eyeing it quizzically. "What is it?"

"It's how you're gonna get us out of here," Sokka answered. "Here, strike the end on the ground."

He did so, then dipped his head back to avoid the fins that sprang from the staff.

"It's a glider," Katara realized, then lit up. "Hey, you can airbend now! That'll let you fly us back down!"

Zuko frowned, considering that. He was able to use airbending on the door, but that was only because he was able to force himself into a positive state of mind. With the way he was feeling right now, he did not imagine he would be able to do so again. Not anytime soon, at least.

Still, it wasn't like he had any better ideas.

"I'll need to test it out first," he replied, glancing at a ridge about ten feet off the ground. "So we don't go falling to our deaths."

"Good plan," agreed Sokka. "We'll stay here and watch."

Zuko did not reply, walking past them and up to the ledge. Sighing, he brought the glider behind him and gripped it with both hands, then stepped back several feet. He took a deep breath, then charged off the ledge and leaped into the air, trying to capture just a little bit of what he had felt when he opened the door.

It eluded him.

"Waugh!" he shouted as he immediately started careening toward the ground. Fortunately, he landed on snow instead of the hard rock. Not so fortunate was that he did so face first.

"You're never going to get anywhere flying like that."

Pushing himself off the ground, Zuko looked up to see the source of the voice that belonged to neither of his companions. What he saw caused his heart to plummet into his gut.

"What your friend said was right," Aang continued. "What happened a hundred years ago wasn't your fault."

"I know that," he replied, standing up. "But my great-grandfather was the one behind it. How am I not supposed to feel bad about that?"

"Because you're not him," the monk answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And you don't have to follow in his footsteps."

"I know that too," he insisted.

"Then why are you still so upset?"

"Why aren't _you_?" he demanded. "Your entire people were wiped out! Not just this temple, either: Sozin killed _all_ of them! Why doesn't that make you angry?"

"I guess I _could_ feel upset about that," Aang admitted, glancing at the snow. He looked up again after a moment. "But where would that get me? The monks taught me that holding onto anger over something you can't change is like clinging to a sinking ship. It might give you something solid to grab onto, but it's dragging you down at the same time."

"So I'm supposed to just jump out into the ocean?"

Aang shook his head. "No. You're supposed to let the people who love you pull you out."

That silenced him.

"If you want to be a good airbender, you need to let go of what happened."

Zuko looked down. "I don't think I can."

"Well then think of something else. Don't dwell on it."

"Like what?"

"Like the other thing your friend said. You can't change what happened, but you _can_ make a difference _now_. You can make up for everything your family did."

"I wouldn't know where to start," he responded.

The smile did not leave Aang's face. "Start by flying your friends down. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Zuko said nothing.

The last airbender smiled and turned around, walking away into the ether. Before he disappeared, he glanced over his shoulder. "Best of luck," he told him. "Oh, and take care of Momo." With that, he suddenly jumped off the cliff edge, only to rise riding a large, fuzzy, six-legged creature a moment later.

And just like that, he vanished.

"Who?" he wondered before a shocked gasp caught his attention and he saw that Sokka had been the victim of a robbery. Perched on Katara's shoulder was a lemur who had snatched a peach from his hands and was currently munching on it. It took several moments for Sokka to close his jaw.

"Please tell me you saw that," he sighed, closing his eyes and not looking at either of them.

Katara shook her head. "Sorry. But if it helps, I don't think you're crazy for talking to something neither of us can see."

"Thanks," he intoned flatly, then glanced at the ledge. "I think I'm ready to try again."

He walked past them, back up onto the ledge. As he inhaled, he gathered all the guilt he felt, all the anger, all the sadness that made him want to collapse. On the exhale, he let it all flow away, knowing it would return later, as it always did. All that mattered was maintaining this serenity long enough to get them back.

Charging forward, Zuko leaped from the edge, and felt something inside him rise before his body did. The passing wind currents were not conducive to keeping the glider airborne, but he _willed_ them to be so, and they were. It was not the first time he had flown, but to do so without fire was an accomplishment nonetheless.

The lemur Aang had christened Momo saw this and launched himself from Katara's shoulder, soaring into the sky beside him. Encouraged by this, he kept pace with the animal, following him on a high arc that looped around the main spire of the temple before returning to where Sokka and Katara waited. Slowing his descent with more airbending, he touched the ground. Not quite as softly as a feather, but it would do.

"Zuko, that was _incredible_!" Katara cheered, clapping her hands together even as Momo landed on her brother's head. "You're an airbender!"

He shook his head. "Not really. But it should be enough to get us back to the ship." He positioned the glider behind him. "Grab on."

They did so, and after a couple of false starts, the three of them finally plunged off the side of the mountain, coasting gently towards the ship waiting below.

* * *

The helmsman was the first to spot the trio as they returned from the Southern Air Temple. Iroh held up a telescope to his eye and pointed it at the dark shape above him, and from this distance he could discern that the three of them were riding some sort of glider.

It seemed the journey had been a success.

His eyes followed them as Zuko traced lazy circles in the sky, slowly descending upon the ship. Within a minute, the three of them touched down on the deck unharmed.

"Yeah," Zuko remarked as he spun the glider around and retracted the flaps. "This is much smoother than flying with fire." A moment later, a flying lemur swooped down and wrapped itself around his shoulders, trilling softly.

"It is good to see that you have succeeded in your quest, Zuko," Iroh congratulated as he approached the trio. "You must have so many discoveries to share."

For some reason that turned his nephew's smile into a frown. He was about to inquire why when Katara spoke up.

"We discovered a whole library of scrolls," she revealed, holding up three bags. "The firebenders must have left it alone."

Iroh nodded, stroking his beard with one hand. It made sense. From the stories he'd heard, the firebenders who invaded the temples had been more concerned with locating and eliminating the Avatar than actually destroying the structures themselves. They were too busy trying to capitalize on the advantage that the comet gave them to go systematically wiping out every last vestige of the culture.

"That is very fortunate," he replied, then glanced at Zuko. "I am certain it will give you much to study."

Zuko nodded in agreement, but the grim expression did not leave his face.

"I suppose we will talk about it later," he decided, giving his nephew the space he clearly desired right now. "For now, go ahead and get some rest. A man needs his rest."

Without saying a word, the Avatar pushed past him and headed for his quarters.

Iroh frowned. Whatever Zuko had discovered at the temple, it had upset him greatly. For a moment he considered asking his two companions, but quashed the notion. Zuko would come forward with the information when he was ready. Iroh was patient enough to wait for that.

He only wished his nephew could have uncovered some _good_ news for once.

* * *

The night vapors spat in Zuko's face as he peered over the starboard railing into the pitch black ocean below. Even though the moon supplied what little light it could, he could not begin to imagine the depth of the waters below him, nor peer even a single fathom under the constantly shifting surface. The sea, he decided, was like his destiny. Impossible to understand from a distance, but if he were to surrender himself, he would surely drown before he comprehended anything.

"Are you having trouble sleeping, Nephew?" inquired Iroh, as though summoned by the bizarre metaphors Zuko's mind was creating. "I'm certain some tea will help."

The Avatar rolled his eyes. "Not with this," he replied softly, barely audible over the waves.

Iroh raised an eyebrow in concern. "You have been avoiding everybody since your return," he began, coming up next to him. "I do not wish to pry, but it seems as though you witnessed something distressing at the Temple."

It was silent for several moments as Zuko tried to formulate a reply. "I found the last airbender," he revealed finally. "Maru was right. His spirit hadn't moved on." He sighed. "I helped him remember what happened."

"I see," his uncle replied carefully. "And what was that?"

"What do you _think_?" he replied bitterly, his volume rising. "He got slaughtered along with all the rest of the Air Nomads." He shut his eyes and turned his head away to hide the single tear that threatened to roll down his face. "He never stood a chance."

Iroh sighed and closed his eyes. "I am very sorry to hear that, Nephew."

"But I've made a decision," he declared, raising his head and staring off into the distance. "I'm not going to let my father take advantage of the comet's power. I'll make sure his reign ends long before it comes."

"You know I will support you with whatever decision you make," the old man replied warily after a moment. "But know that taking on your father will mean more than walking through the front door of his palace and telling him to stop."

Zuko glared. "I'm aware of the logistics," he replied. "But I can't just sail around the world any longer. I need a plan."

"You have one," Iroh reminded him. "You must master all the elements before the comet returns. Only then will you be strong enough to face your father."

"And what if I don't?" he demanded, whirling on him. "What if the comet arrives and I'm not good enough to stop him? What's the world's last hope then?"

He did not have an answer for that.

"You know, ever since I found out I was the Avatar, people have been talking to me like I'm the last line of defense for this world," Zuko continued. "And they're right. The Avatars before me had the same expectations riding on them, and they failed. But there isn't going to be another Air Nomad Avatar. Today I met the last one."

He sighed, and Iroh could see how emotionally drained the young man was. "I can't do this on my own."

"You do not have to," he reminded him, gripping his shoulder reassuringly. "I am here for you whenever you need me. And now you have allies from the Water Tribe. No one is ever alone."

"He's right, you know," Maru added after suddenly materializing. "You can call on any of your past lives whenever you need us. We're here for you."

Zuko frowned. "I appreciate the support," he said. "But unless either of you has an idea of how to face my father without getting myself killed, I don't imagine there's a whole lot you can tell me that I don't already know."

Without waiting for a reply, he shoved past his uncle and headed below deck.

* * *

Flames rose to form an obscuring curtain in front of a robed figure, painting the gigantic throne room an intimidating shade of orange. Massive black pillars adorned with curling dragons took up most of the chamber, leaving a relatively narrow pathway for those who sought an audience with the Fire Lord.

The curtain at the opposite end of the room parted, allowing a figure to step through. She marched proudly along the black tiles before bowing with the utmost respect in front of the throne.

"You summoned me, father?"

"Yes," Fire Lord Ozai responded. "I have a task for you. Rise."

She rose to a kneeling position, tucking her legs beneath her as she patiently awaited her orders.

"Commander Zhao has sent word: the Avatar has been located."

"Well," she replied with a smirk. "I'm sure Prince Zuko will be happy to hear _that_."

"That is the best part," Ozai continued, a smug satisfaction sneaking into his voice as well. "Zhao reports that Prince Zuko _is_ the Avatar."

She barely kept a satisfied grin from spreading across her face. "And how does he know this?"

"Prince Zuko defended a small Water Tribe village using three different kinds of bending, immediately after visiting the Fire Sage's temple on the Winter Solstice," the Fire Lord explained. "It seems exile wasn't enough for him. He has betrayed his own country. And so it is your responsibility to hunt him down and end this threat to the Fire Nation once and for all, just as I took over the task from my brother."

Princess Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai and the former Princess Ursa, smiled wickedly. "Of course, father," she answered sweetly. "I won't let you down."


End file.
